Balzac in the Robe of a Dominican Monk

Balzac in the Robe of a Dominican Monk is a bronze sculpture by French artist Auguste Rodin, one of the studies made in preparation to the Monument to Balzac, a tribute to novelist Honoré de Balzac commissioned by the Society of Men of Letters of France in 1891.[1] This sculpture was a particular challenge to the artist due to his preference to portray his subjects in great detail, and the fact that Balzac was already dead. Rodin then started to research about the life and times of his subject, only to find, according to Kenneth Clark, that he had been a short, fat and unremarkable-looking man.[2]

Not to be confused with Monument to Balzac.
Balzac in the Robe of a Dominican Monk
French: Balzac en robe de dominicain
The sculpture in display at Museo Soumaya
ArtistAuguste Rodin
Year1892
TypeSculpture
MediumBronze
SubjectHonoré de Balzac
Dimensions106.4 cm × 38.5 cm × 50.8 cm (27 in × 9.8 in × 12.9 in)
LocationMuseo Soumaya, Mexico City

With this difficulty, Rodin aimed instead to represent Balzac's persona rather than his physical likeness.[3] Instead of the agreed-upon eighteen months, Rodin spent seven years making different studies, both nude and non-nude, only to present his final plaster in 1898 at a Salon in Champ de Mars with great disapproval by the Societè.[4] Disillusioned with this result, Rodin decided to install the plaster at his house in Meudon. Only in 1939 was a full-size cast put at the crossroads of boulevard Raspail and boulevard du Montparnasse, also known as carrefour Vavin, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.

Three sculptures of Balzac made by Rodin

Unlike other studies and the final version of the monument, Balzac in the Robe of a Dominican Monk shows the author fully clothed with the traditional habit of the Dominican order—a simple cloak with a belt— standing in a rock-like structure and with both hands explicitly shown. It is considered by some later critics as one of the best sculptures made by the French artist. Rodin himself has been quoted about this piece, considering that "the fruit and summing-up of my entire life and the pivot of my personal aesthetic".[2]

References
  1. Musée Rodin. "The great years of creation". Retrieved October 13, 2016. 1891: The Société des Gens de Lettres commissions him to design a Monument to Honoré Balzac
  2. La Era de Rodin (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Museo Soumaya. 2007. pp. 148–149. ISBN 978-968-7794-36-5.
  3. The Museum of Modern Art. "Auguste Rodin. Monument to Balzac". MoMA, official website. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  4. "Monument to Balzac". rodin-web.org. August 31, 2004. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
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