Updated 07 April 2025
Currently not on display
Photo by (c) Norihiro Ueno
Currently not on display
Eternal Springtime
| Date | 1881-84 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | bronze |
| Size（cm） | 65 x 71 x 38 |
| Inscriptions | Signed back of base: A. Rodin; Foundry mark lower right back of base: Alexis Rudier / Fondeur Paris |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M1264 |
| Category | Sculptures |
| Collection Number | S.1959-0016 |
The theme in "Eternal Springtime" is in line with "The Kiss" (1886, S.1959-4) and is a variation of the theme of "love" exemplified by Paolo and Francesca in "The Divine Comedy". The woman's pose is based on a torso Rodin sculpted in 1882 using a model named Adèle. Rodin constantly produced sculptures by combining existing figures and this composition is one such example.This bronze proved extremely popular as the sweet and sensual theme is understandable at first sight and the handsome structure is complete in itself. It was first submitted to the Salon of 1898 and then turned into many variations and replicas in marble and bronze varying in size and form. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Bought from Musée Rodin by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite, ca. July 1923, as ‘Le Printemps’ (Fr. 35,000) [see several letters between Bénédite and Suzuki & Co., July 1923, 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. 62
- 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. 28
- 2016
- The Old Matsukata Collection: Reenvisioning the Dream, Kobe City Museum, 17 September 2016 - 27 November 2016, cat. no. 61, col. repr.
Bibliography
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. S-30.
- 2016
- The Old Matsukata Collection: Reenvisioning the Dream (exh. cat.). Kobe City Museum, ed. [Kobe], Executive Committee of the Old Matsukata Collection, 2016, pp. 104, 263, cat. no. 61, 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. 1264, col. repr.