Auguste Rodin (France 1840‑1917)

”Éternel Printemps”

To be sold at Uppsala Auktionskammare’s Important Sale Week 10 – 13 December 2024

Lot 780 Auguste Rodin (France 1840‑1917). ”Éternel Printemps”, second état, 4èᵐᵉ réduction also called n°2. Signed Rodin. Foundry mark F Barbedienne Fondeur. With the letter ”D” and number ”7” stamped inside. Bronze with golden patina, 24.5 x 30.5 x 18.6 cm.

Conceived in 1884, the actual size reduced in 1898 and cast between 1898 and 1918 in an edition of between 63 and 69 examples. This bronze was cast by the Leblanc-Barbedienne foundry around 1904‑1905.

This work will be included in the forthcoming Auguste Rodin Catalogue Critique de l’oeuvre Sculpté d’Auguste Rodin currently being prepared by the Comité Auguste Rodin at Galerie Brame et Lorenceau under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay under the archive number 2024-7284B.

Estimate

1.500.000 – 2.000.000 SEK
€ 129.000 – 173.000

Provenance

Établissements Leblanc-Barbedienne, Paris.
Åmells konsthandel, Stockholm.
A Swedish private collection, acquired from the above in March 1973.

Literature

Leon Maillard, Auguste Rodin, Statuaire, 1899, pp. 121‑122, compare with the marble version illustrated fig. 16.
Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1927, nos. 69‑70, p. 42, other versions illustrated.
Musée Rodin (ed.), Catalogue 1931,1931, no. 135, p. 68, larger version illustrated.
Judith Cladel, Rodin, 1936, the marble version illustrated p. 97.
Georges Grappe, Le Musée Rodin, Paris, 1947, p. 141, larger version illustrated pl. 56.
Bernard Champigneulle, Rodin, 1967, nos. 34‑35, p. 280, larger plaster versions illustrated pp. 92‑93.
Robert Descharnes & Jean-François Chabrun, Auguste Rodin, 1967, p. 135, larger bronze version illustrated p. 134.
Ionel Jianou & C. Goldscheider, Rodin, 1967, p. 96, pls. 56‑57, large bronze version illustrated.
Leo Steinberg, Other criteria, Confrontations with Twentieth-Century Art, 1972, no. 232, p. 363, the marble version illustrated.
John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, 1976, no. 32b, p. 246, larger bronze version illustrated.
Albert E. Elsen, Rodin Rediscovered, 1981, p. 68, large clay version illustrated fig. 313.
Anna-Birgitte Fonsmark, Rodin, 1988, no. 15, pp. 100‑102, the marble version illustrated p. 101.
Albert E. Elsen, Rodin’s Art, The Rodin Collection of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, New York, 2003, pp. 494‑497, no. 14, other versions illustrated pp. 494‑496.
Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, Rodin et le bronze, Catalogue des œuvres conservées au Musée Rodin, vol. I, 2007, no. S. 777, p. 334, another cast illustrated.

“Éternel Printemps” (Eternal spring) is one of Auguste Rodin’s most admired works, deriving from his earlier works as with many of his great sculptures. It was probably originally executed to be part of the ”La porte de l’enfer” (The Gates of Hell), a monumental bronze sculptural group work that depicts a scene from the Inferno in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. However, “Éternel Printemps” was finally excluded to be part of the portal since its clear expression of happiness and love could not find its place among the tragic scenes. Rodin received the commission from the Directorate of Fine Arts in 1880 and it would occupy him for years to come, leading him to several sculptural experiments. Although it was meant to be delivered in 1885 to form the entrance of the planned Decorative Arts Museum in Paris, the museum was never built. Even so, Rodin continued to work on this project until his death in 1917. 

The theme of “Éternel Printemps” was probably one of Rodin’s first attempts to represent two intertwined lovers. The subject appeared at a turning point in Rodin’s life and was perhaps inspired by his personal life. The young sculptor Camille Claudel had entered his studio as a student the previous year and shortly after they embarked on a passionate and tumultuous love affair. Rodin was impressed by her talent and in return for sharing his knowledge he enjoyed “the happiness of being ever understood, of seeing his expectations ever exceeded”. It has been suggested that the relationship with Camille made Rodin abandon convention and depict the deep passion between the two lovers. Later in life Rodin claimed, however, that the idea for the present theme came to him while listening to the Second Symphony by Beethoven. In a letter to Jeanne Russell, who was the daughter of the Australian painter John Russell, he wrote: “God, how [Beethoven] must have suffered to write that! And yet, it was while listening to it for the first time that I pictured Eternal Spring, just as I have modeled it since.” (The Bronzes of Rodin, exhibition catalogue, Musée Rodin, 2007, p. 336). Rodin first named the sculpture “Zéphyr et la terre” but submitted it to the Paris Salon of 1897 under the name “Cupidon et Psyché”. However, he later abandoned the reference to mythology and exhibited the composition under the title “Éternel Printemps”. 

Rodin showed an innovative approach towards representing the human body during this period. The two lovers depicted in “Éternel Printemps” are swept up in a passionate kiss, embracing each other and almost merging into one body. The female figure is an extended version of Rodin’s “Torso of Adèle” (Musée Rodin, Paris, 1882), which can also be found on the top left corner of the tympanum of ”La porte de l’enfer”. Her gracefully arched back is resting in the muscular arms of the male figure, creating a dynamic posture filled with love, passion and vibrating energy. Rodin would often use live models to compose his sculptures, enabling him to create more natural features. In the wonderful sculpture “Éternel Printemps”, Rodin managed to convey an image of love experienced in all its intensity and powerfulness. 

On July 6 in 1898 Rodin entered into an agreement with the Leblanc-Barbedienne foundry regarding the casting of his sculptures “Le Baiser” (The Kiss) and “Éternel Printemps”. Each of the two subjects were cast in different sizes. The 2nd state of “Éternel Printemps” initially included three sizes; 64, 40 and 25 cm, a version of 52 cm was also added to this state in 1900. The fourth reduction included between 63 and 69 sculptures of 25 cm, cast between 1898 and 1918. The present version shows internal markings and details that reveal that it was cast around 1904-1905. A stunning version of his favored theme of the eternal spring, this rare example was cast in bronze and patinated in luminous gold. Now being offered on the market for the first time since 1973, the sale of “Éternel Printemps” presents an exciting opportunity to acquire one of Auguste Rodin’s most iconic sculptures.   ■

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