Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) - Lot 75

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) Female mask with snub nose, small model Created circa 1885-1890; probably cast by Auguste Griffoul Bronze with light-brown patina H. 13.2 x W. 10.8 x D. 8 cm, on an onyx base H. 5 cm Provenance: Professor André Kuss; by descent The model for this Petite tête au nez retroussé is undoubtedly Minna Schrader de Nyzot, whose history and identity are somewhat confused. The most we know is that she also posed for Saint Marceaux and Raffaëlli. Rodin sculpted her portrait, with its gentle, peaceful expression, around 1880, as a continuation of his work on the small heads of the Damned, which he intended to incorporate into the tympanum of the Porte de l'Enfer. There are several variants of this small bronze, which looks more like a mask. While many posthumous castings of the Petite tête au nez retroussé by Rudier are known, very few were cast by Auguste Griffoul during the sculptor's lifetime. Auguste Griffoul is the son of Jean-Baptiste Griffoul, who worked for a time with François Rudier, almost exclusively for Rodin. Auguste, for his part, encountered financial difficulties, and although he continued to work for Rodin in the late 1890s, he immigrated to the United States, where his talent and skills won him numerous commissions. Our Minna mask is a rare and beautiful testimony to Rodin's artistic and benevolent complicity with his founders. The sculptor, who must have been attached to this intimate por- trait, kept a copy and had himself photographed around 1900 in Meudon, at his work table, face to face with Minna's mask (Photo anonyme, circa 1900, Paris, Musée Rodin, inv. Ph.721). Related work : -Auguste Rodin, Petite tête au nez retroussé, ou Minna Schrader de Nyzot? circa 1880-1890, cast before 1916, bronze, sand casting, signed "A. Rodin" below the left ear, bears the founder's mark "A. RUDIER FONDEUR / PARIS" on the back of the base, H. 18.5 x W. 10.5 x D. 9 cm, Paris, Musée Rodin, n°inv. S.00631 Related literature -Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, Les bronzes de Rodin, catalog des œuvres au musée Rodin, Paris, Musée rodin, RMN, 2007, vol. 2, pp. 670-671.