Updated 05 October 2023
Currently not on display
Photo by (c) Norihiro Ueno
Currently not on display
Bust of Father Eymard
| Date | 1863 (model) |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | bronze |
| Size（cm） | 60 x 28 x 29 |
| Inscriptions | Signed lower right side: A. Rodin; Foundry mark lower left back: Alexis RUDIER / Fondeur PARIS. |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M1289 |
| Category | Sculptures |
| Collection Number | S.1959-0041 |
This is Rodin's first work that can be clearly dated. Father Eymard founded the order of Le Pere du Saint Sacrement and was ordained as bishop in 1862. Further, he was the priest who warmly welcomed Rodin when the artist considered entering the priesthood, due to the pitiful suffering of his older sister Maria, and he allowed the novitiate Auguste to sculpt his portrait. The sympathetic and highly intelligent Father Eymard convinced the sculptor as he worked on the model that his vocation did not lay in the priesthood and thanks to this advice, Rodin returned to his home. This bust created in 1863 shows that the young Rodin could already grasp the internal spirit of his model and the work is proof that he had the talent to clearly express this spirit in physical form. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.125)
Provenance
Bought from Musée Rodin by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite, ca. July 1921, as ‘Le père Aymard’ (Fr. 6,000) [see several letters between Bénédite and Suzuki & Co., July 1921, 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. 2
Bibliography
- 1989
- Goldscheider, Cécile. Rodin, vie et œuvre, Tome I. Paris, Wildenstein Institute, 1989, pp. 40-42, no. 12.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. S-55.
- 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. 125, 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. 125, 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. 1289, col. repr.