Updated 05 October 2023
Currently not on display
Nereides
Date | Before 1887 |
---|---|
Materials and Techniques | bronze |
Size(cm) | 43 x 47 x 35 |
Inscriptions | Signed lower right front of base: A. Rodin |
Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
Standard ref. | M1283 |
Category | Sculptures |
Collection Number | S.1959-0035 |
This group is known as Nereids or Sirens and also appears at the centre of the left door of "The Gates of Hell". The three girls are daughters of a sea-god in Greek mythology and are said to have bewitched voyaging sailors with their charming voices and caused many wrecks. In the catalogue for the Rodin exhibition held in 1900, this sculpture is referred to as "The Daughters of Niobe" and is compared with the Rhinemaidens in Wagner's "The Rhinegold". As a sculpture, the musical and tactile movement as if the rolling waves produced a momentary illusion is owed largely to Rodin's originality. This is precisely the sensation that dominated the European fin de siècle sensibility apparent in such genres as Art Nouveau crafts and architecture. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Bought from Musée Rodin by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite, ca. February 1919, as ‘Sirènes’ (Fr. 15,000) [see several letters between Bénédite and Suzuki & Co., February 1919, in Archives of Musée Rodin, 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. 32
- 1980
- [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces of Art from the Collection of National Museums, The Art Center of Oita Prefecture, Oita, 22 October 1980 - 5 November 1980, cat. no. 26
- 1980
- [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces of Art from the Collection of National Museums, The Kumamoto Prefectural Museum, Kumamoto, 11 November 1980 - 24 November 1980, cat. no. 26
- 1980
- [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces of Art from the Collection of National Museums, The Nagasaki Prefectural Museum, Nagasaki, 29 November 1980 - 13 December 1980, cat. no. 26
- 1981
- [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces of Art from the Collection of National Museums, The Hirosaki Municipal Museum, 7 October 1981 - 21 October 1981, cat. no. 25
- 1981
- [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces of Art from the Collection of National Museums, The Iwate Prefectural Hall, Morioka, 28 October 1981 - 11 November 1981, cat. no. 25
- 1981
- [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces of Art from the Collection of National Museums, The Fukushima Prefectural Culture Center, Fukushima, 18 November 1981 - 2 December 1981, cat. no. 25
- 1982
- [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces of Art from the Collection of National Museums, The Tottori Prefectural Museum, Tottori, 1 October 1982 - 17 October 1982, cat. no. 26
- 1982
- [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces of Art from the Collection of National Museums, The Cultural Center of Kagawa Prefecture, Takamatsu, 23 October 1982 - 7 November 1982, cat. no. 26
- 1982
- [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces of Art from the Collection of National Museums, The Cultural Center of Kochi Prefecture, Kochi, 13 November 1982 - 28 November 1982, cat. no. 26
- 1989
- Rodin et la Porte de l’Enfer (Rodin and the Gates of Hell), National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 21 October 1989 - 17 December 1989, cat. no. 45
- 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. 37
- 2006
- August Rodin / Eugène Carrière, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 7 March 2006 - 4 June 2006, cat. no. 56
- 2012
- Traces of Hands: Sculpture and Drawings by Rodin and Bourdelle from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 3 November 2012 - 27 January 2013, cat. no. 43
- 2013
- Monet, An Eye for Landscapes: Innovation in 19th Century French Landscape Paintings, Pola Museum of Art, 13 July 2013 - 24 November 2013, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 7 December 2013-9 March 2014, cat. no. 84, col. repr.
Bibliography
- 1967
- Descharnes, Robert. Auguste Rodin. Paris, Edita Lausanne, 1967, p. 86.
- 1969
- Jianou, lonel et Goldscheider, C. Rodin. Paris, Arted Editions d'Art, 1969, p. 92.
- 1976
- Tancock, John L. The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1976, no. 24.
- 1976
- Exposition Rodin au Japon (exh. cat.). [Tokyo], Gendai Chokoku Center, 1976, no. 30.
- 1979
- Auguste Rodin: Plastik, Zeichungen, Graphik (exh. cat.). Berlin, Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin/DDR, 1979, pp. 122-123, no. 25.
- 1987
- Ambrosini, Lynne. Rodin: The Cantor Gift to the Brooklyn Museum. New York, The Brooklyn Museum, 1987, pp. 76-77, no. 16.
- 1989
- Claude Monet-Auguste Rodin (exh. cat.). Paris, Musée Rodin, 1989, no. 30.
- 1989
- Rodin et la Porte de l'Enfer (exh. cat.). The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1989, no. 45.
- 1990
- Pingeot, Anne. "Fragments tirés d'un ensemble I". Le Corps en morceaux. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 5 February - 3 June 1990; Schirn Kunsthalle, Francfort, 23 June - 26 Aug. 1990, Réunion des musées nationaux, 1990, pp. 204-205.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. S-49.
- 2001
- Ross, Iain; Snow, Anthea eds. Rodin A Magnificent Obsession. London, Merrell, 2001, p. 109, no. 89.
- 2001
- Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette. Rodin en 1900: l'exposition de l'alma (exh. cat.). Musée du Luxembourg, 12 March - 15 July 2001, Paris, Réunion des musées nationaux, 2001, no. 24.
- 2002
- Victor Hugo vu par Rodin (exh. cat.). Musée des beaux-arts et d'archéologie de Besançon, 4 October 2002 - 27 January, 2003. Besançon/ Paris, Somogy édition d'art; Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie de Besançon, 2002, no. 94.
- 2005
- Le parcours d'un génie. Kyoto, Tankosya, 2005 , p. 360 no. 32.
- 2013
- MONET, An Eye For Landscapes: Innovation in 19th Century French Landscape Paintings(exh. cat.). Tokyo, TBS, c2013, cat. no. 84,col. repr.
- 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. 1283, col. repr.