Updated 14 May 2025
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Study for the Abduction
| Date | 19 C |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | ink on paper |
| Size（cm） | 37.5 x 31.5 |
| Inscriptions | Signed lower left: Rodin |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M1757 |
| Category | Drawings |
| Collection Number | D.1959-0058 |
Rodin was a prominent sculptor of France in the late 19th century and is considered the founder of modern sculpture. Although not so widely known, he also did a vast number of drawings throughout his lifetime. There are very few drawings that are directly related to his sculptures, but this drawing, which is hatched in pen and ink, is more or less a faithful sketch for a sculpture completed by Rodin himself. Similar examples include drawings of "Bronze Age" and "John the Baptist Preaching". The most significant characteristic of Rodin's drawings is their autonomous status as works of art. In this case, the sharp lines provide the image with a dramatic character transcending the mere precision of the sketching. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Alfred Beurdeley, Paris; Beurdeley sale, 2-4 June 1920, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, lot 340, as ‘Recherche pour “L’Enlèvement”’; purchased at this sale by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite (Fr. 5,280, including commission) [see several letters among Bénédite, Lair Dubreuil and Suzuki & Co, July 1920 and auction purchase record 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. 142
Bibliography
- 1955
- La Collection Matsukata. Tokyo, Asahi- Shimbun, 1955, p.6. (in Japanese)
- 1959
- Mizue : a monthly review of the fine arts. no. 651, Special Number, July 1959 (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-257.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 1296.
- 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. 1757, col. repr.