Updated 14 May 2025
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
The Centauress
| Date | 19 C |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | watercolour on paper |
| Size（cm） | 30.0 x 45.0 |
| Inscriptions | Signed lower right: A. Rodin |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M1755 |
| Category | Drawings |
| Collection Number | D.1959-0056 |
The vast number of drawings Rodin executed in his lifetime is said to total over 8,000. This shows that, in Rodin's case, a drawing was not simply a study for a sculpture but an effective means of self-expression. He is said to have had a habit of swiftly producing one drawing after another in his studio. This female centaur is outlined with quickly drawn carefree lines buoyant enough to almost protrude the sheet. The form overflowing with liveliness is captured in a single stroke and gives the impression that it might dash off at any moment. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Purchased by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite, ca. July 1922, as ‘La Centauresse’ (Fr. 1,500) [see several letters between Bénédite and Suzuki & Co., June-July 1922, in Bibliothèque centrale des musées nationaux, Paris; copy in NMWA curatorial files]; sequestered by French government, 1944; vested in French government under San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1952; transferred from French to Japanese government, 23 January 1959; entered into NMWA, April 1959.
Exhibition History
- 1966
- Rodin, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 23 July 1966 - 11 September 1966, cat. no. 140
- 1997
- Resonating Love and Life: European Art from National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Nagaoka, 12 April 1997 - 18 May 1997, cat. no. 24
- 2001
- French Masterpiece Drawings from The National Museum of Western Art Collection, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 27 March 2001 - 24 June 2001, exhibited May 15 - June 24
Bibliography
- 1961
- Catalogue du Musée National d'Art Occidental, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1961 (Préface and Catalogue Général in Japanese and French), P-255.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 1294.
- 1997
- Resonating Love and Life: European Art from National Museum of Western Art (exh. cat.). The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, 12 April-18 May 1997. The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art; National Museum of Western Art, cat. no. 24.
- 2019
- The Matsukata Collection: Complete Catalogue of the European Art. Kawaguchi, Masako; Jingaoka, Megumi, eds. vol. 2: Sculpture, Drawings, Prints and Decorative Arts and Other Works, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2019, cat. no. 1755, col. repr.