Updated 14 May 2025
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Cambodian Woman
| Date | 1889(ca.) |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | watercolour over pencil on paper |
| Size（cm） | 31.0 x 22.0 |
| Inscriptions | Signed lower right: A. Rodin |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M1754 |
| Category | Drawings |
| Collection Number | D.1959-0055 |
In 1906, Rodin attended a performance given by a troupe of Cambodian dancers visiting France. He was absolutely enchanted by the exotic costumes and movement of these dancers and did numerous drawings of them. Although it is hard to determine whether it was merely a touch of exoticism or an inevitability deriving from the essence of Rodin's art, it is true that, Rodin held notable interest in the Far East including Japan. The drawings dating from his late years are often composed of facile curves, which seem to fix the bodily movement on the paper. Such a characteristic is evident in this picture, too. The hastily drawn lines and the subtle tonality of the pale brown wash skillfully capture the instantaneous movement of the body. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Purchased by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe or by him through Léonce Bénédite, ca. November 1922 [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. 139
- 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 , p. 6. (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-254.
- 1969
- Tominaga, Soichi. Auguste Rodin. Yomiuri Shimbun-sha, 1969, no. 165. (in Japanese)
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 1293.
- 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. 1754, col. repr.