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Rodin Museum

The Clenched Hand

Modeled c. 1885; cast 1925
Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917) Cast by the founder Alexis Rudier, Paris (1874–1952)

Rodin almost obsessively explored the expressive power of hands, using them to convey an infinite variety of emotion—fury, anguish, fatigue—and as a metaphor for creation. It is thought that he conceived The Clenched Hand and The Left Hand as studies for The Burghers of Calais, but probably rejected the hands as being too animated.


Object Details

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Rodin Museum