Updated 14 May 2025
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Cambodian Man
| Date | 1889(ca.) |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | watercolour over pencil on paper |
| Size（cm） | 31.0 x 23.0 |
| Inscriptions | Signed lower left: Aug Rodin |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M1753 |
| Category | Drawings |
| Collection Number | D.1959-0054 |
Rodin was a prominent sculptor of France in the late 19th century and is considered the founder of modern sculpture. This is one of the carefree drawings in his late years. When a Cambodgian dancing troupe visited Paris in 1906, Rodin was fascinated by the bizarre movement of the dancers and did many drawings. Although it is unknown as to whether it was simply a taste for exoticism or a natural consequence of the essence of Rodin's art, it remains a fact that he was interested in the Far East, including Japan. There are not a few drawings executed in his late years in which Rodin attempts to visualize the movement of the human body in buoyant curves. The combination of contours drawn in pencil and speedy wash demonstrates typical features of such drawings. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Purchased by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe or by him through Léonce Bénédite, ca. November 1922, as ‘Deux dessins “Danseuses Cambodgiennes”’ [see several letters between Bénédite and Suzuki & Co., November 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. 138
- 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 March 27 - May 13
Bibliography
- 1955
- La Collection Matsukata. Tokyo, Asahi- Shimbun, 1955 , no. 68. (in Japanese)
- 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-253.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 1292.
- 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. 1753, col. repr.