L'age d'airain
1876 - 1880
Auguste Rodin
The confident pose of this young man, hand on his head, is striking. The 22-year-old Flemish soldier August Neyt modeled for this sculpture for 18 months. He originally held a spear, an attribute later omitted by the artist. The sculptor gave this work several titles, including “The Vanquished,” “Man of the Forest,” and finally “The Bronze Age.”
Details
- Plan number: M22
- Zone: Human Nature
- Title: L'age d'airain (The Bronze Age)
- Creator: Auguste Rodin
- Date: 1876 - 1880
- Material: bronze
- Acquisition: loan by Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen
- Object number: MID.LB.KM.1965
This young man looks so lifelike that controversy ensued. Rodin is said to have created the sculpture by working directly on the model. He was able to refute that, but it is certainly an example of a work that is very close to nature. Did the artist want to use it to convince us that we are part of nature?
French Impressionist artist Auguste Rodin brought a breath of fresh air to academic sculpture in the late 19th century. He introduced innovative practices that paved the way for modern sculpture. Rodin believed that art should be true to nature, a philosophy that determined his attitude towards models and materials.
From the same artist
Auguste Rodin
A man in a dressing gown, with a massive head and deep-set eyes, protruding chin and wild hair, is looking directly at you. It is Honoré de Balzac, one of France’s literary greats. Auguste Rodin chose to depict him not as a literary hero, but as a writer, in the dressing gown he wore when at work.
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