The Martyr

East Gallery (Coates Gallery)

Rodin Museum

The Martyr

Modeled 1885, enlarged 1889; cast 1925

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917) Cast by the founder Alexis Rudier, Paris (1874–1952)

Rodin originally intended this figure to be part of his monumental work The Gates of Hell (Philadelphia Museum of Art, F1929-7-128), attached to a vertical support to appear as if floating in space. However, the dislocation expressed by the body when presented horizontally compelled Rodin to make it into a sculpture in its own right. The ambiguous nature of The Martyr emerges from the feelings of both suffering and ecstasy she expresses, reflecting Rodin's conception of love. The sculptor must have found the particular tension of the limbs especially expressive, as he returned to it on a number of occasions such as in the Fall of Icarus (Collection of the Musée Rodin, Paris).

Rodin Museum, East Gallery (Coates Gallery)

Object Details

Titles:

The Martyr

Date:

Modeled 1885, enlarged 1889; cast 1925

Artists:

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917) Cast by the founder Alexis Rudier, Paris (1874–1952)

Medium:

Bronze

Dimensions:

18 x 59 x 38 inches (45.7 x 149.9 x 96.5 cm)

Classification:

Sculpture

Credit Line:

Bequest of Jules E. Mastbaum, 1929

Accession Number:

F1929-7-8

Geography:

Made in France, Europe

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East Gallery (Coates Gallery)

Rodin Museum