On view
William R. Elfers Gallery
Danaid,
1880s, carved 1903/04
Collapsed in exhaustion, this figure is one of the Danaids of Greek mythology. After murdering their husbands on their wedding night, the Danaids were condemned to the endless task of filling leaking vessels with water. The downward arc of the figure’s body underscores her desperation and frustration as water spills from her useless jug. The spine, shoulders, and musculature of her back form a complex surface that catches light and shadow.
Rodin asked his models to assume different positions as he sought the perfect expressive gesture. This approach distinguished him from academic sculptors, who tended to rely on conventional poses. Rodin modeled his subjects in clay, and his collaborators then made marble or bronze copies of them. The sculptor’s idea was considered more important than the execution, and versions of a composition in varying sizes and materials were held in equal esteem by contemporary audiences.
More About This Object
Information
1880s, carved 1903/04
Adolph Lewisohn (1849-1938), New York, NY by at least 1928; [1]
By descent from the above to Sam Lewisohn, New York, NY (1884-1951);
Bequest of the above to Princeton University Art Museum, 1954.
Notes:
[1] This and all following provenance: John L. Tancock, The Collection of the Rodin Museum, Philadelphia: The sculptures of Auguste Rodin, 1976, p. 256
- "Recent acquisitions", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 14, no. 1 (1955): p. 17-19., p. 18
- Allen Rosenbaum and Francis F. Jones, Selections from The Art Museum, Princeton University, (Princeton, NJ: The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1986), p. 100 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), 58-59 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 58
