Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Age of Bronze

Auguste Rodin; Caster: Alex Rudier Fondeur

Date

1876–77 (plaster model); casting date unknown

Medium

Bronze

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This figure originally held a spear and was called The Vanquished to symbolize France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. While the work refers to the classical male nudes sculpted in antiquity and the Italian Renaissance, Rodin's figure is more lifelike. The ambivalent pose suggests multiple meanigs and psychological interprations. When Rodin exhibited The Age of Bronze at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in 1877, it aroused great controversy. He had removed the figure's spear and retitled the work, causing viewers to question his subject matter. More importantly, however, the bronze was so lifelike that critics accused Rodin of having it cast directly from a male model. Insulted by this accusation, Rodin began using a more exaggerated modeling technique that emphasized the expressive qualities of the human figure, so that his works could never again be mistaken for life casts. Europe

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