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The Death of Adonis
Auguste Rodin, After 1888, Marble.
“Classical mythology and Ovid’s Metamorphoses were for Rodin an inexhaustible source of inspiration, even if he used their legends largely as an excuse to further his passion for composing and combining figures. For this group he reused the small model for Kneeling Man, placing it on its back. The grieving young woman, whose pose recalls that of the Danaid, seems to be attempting through her embrace to bring her lover back to life. Rodin made several models with the title The Death of Adonis. In this version he has concentrated on Venus’ anguish at failing to revive the beautiful god. The Resurrection of Adonis would become the subject of another work.”
“The way Rodin has handled the marble imbues it with both symbolic and expressive power: the bodies have all the smoothness and sensuality of living flesh, while the base is raw and rough. At least three marble versions exist, executed between 1890 and 1901, that vary principally in the degree to which the base has been finished. The practitioner Camille Raynaud (1868−1947), responsible for the one seen here, worked for the sculptor Alexandre Falguière and then Rodin before returning to Toulouse to teach.”
(Details from mmfarodin.com/w/la-mort-dadonis?lang=fr&from-theme=55...)
The Death of Adonis
Auguste Rodin, After 1888, Marble.
“Classical mythology and Ovid’s Metamorphoses were for Rodin an inexhaustible source of inspiration, even if he used their legends largely as an excuse to further his passion for composing and combining figures. For this group he reused the small model for Kneeling Man, placing it on its back. The grieving young woman, whose pose recalls that of the Danaid, seems to be attempting through her embrace to bring her lover back to life. Rodin made several models with the title The Death of Adonis. In this version he has concentrated on Venus’ anguish at failing to revive the beautiful god. The Resurrection of Adonis would become the subject of another work.”
“The way Rodin has handled the marble imbues it with both symbolic and expressive power: the bodies have all the smoothness and sensuality of living flesh, while the base is raw and rough. At least three marble versions exist, executed between 1890 and 1901, that vary principally in the degree to which the base has been finished. The practitioner Camille Raynaud (1868−1947), responsible for the one seen here, worked for the sculptor Alexandre Falguière and then Rodin before returning to Toulouse to teach.”
(Details from mmfarodin.com/w/la-mort-dadonis?lang=fr&from-theme=55...)