Updated 05 October 2023
Currently not on display
Photo by (c) Norihiro Ueno
Currently not on display
Bellona
| Date | 1879 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | bronze |
| Size（cm） | 83 x 52 x 41 |
| Inscriptions | Signed under of right shoulder: A. Rodin; Foundry mark lower back of base: ALEXIS RUDIER. / FONDEUR PARIS |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M1254 |
| Category | Sculptures |
| Collection Number | S.1959-0006 |
Rodin's wife Rose frequently acted as her husband's model, and here she wears an antique style helmet for her transformation into the solemn Goddess of War. This work was originally called Clorinda, a princess of Saracen, and Hippolyte, a queen of Amazon. Rodin creates a monumental volume that surpasses that of mankind through the figure's resolute pose and strong, fleshy form. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 137)
Provenance
Bought from Musée Rodin by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite, ca. August 1919, as ‘Bellone, buste décoratif’ (Fr. 18,000) [see several letters between Bénédite and Suzuki & Co., August 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. 11
Bibliography
- 1989
- Goldscheider, Cécile. Rodin, vie et œuvre, Tome I. Paris, Wildenstein Institute, 1989, pp. 134-137, no. 107.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. S-20.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 137, repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 137, 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. 1254, col. repr.