Collections: European Art: Orpheus (Orphée)

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Orpheus (Orphée)

This sculpture, with its intense torsion and strain, its mixture of exaltation and despair, reflects the complexity of the theme and Rodin's willingness to have his works express the internal conflict and ambiguity of actual experience, even when dealing with a mythological theme.

According to the Greek myth, when Orpheus's wife, Eurydice, died, he descended into the underworld to try to regain her. This he accomplished through the persuasive power of his music; but returning with her to the upper world, he was unable to restrain his passion and glanced back at her too soon, ignoring one of the conditions set by the gods, and lost Eurydice again.

• Artist: Auguste Rodin, French, 1840-1917
• Cast By: Émile Godard Fondeur, Paris
• Medium: Bronze
• Place Made: France
• Dates: 1908, cast 1980
• Dimensions: 57 1/2 x 30 x 49 1/4 in. (146.1 x 76.2 x 125.1 cm)
• Markings: Back, proper right: "E. GODARD FOND." Base, proper right: "© by Musée Rodin 1980"
• Signature: Base, proper left: "A. Rodin"
• Inscriptions: Base, proper left: "No 7"
• Collections: European Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor
• Accession Number: 84.75.3
• Edition: 7/12
• Credit Line: Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
• Image: Overall, 84.75.3_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Auguste Rodin (French, 1840-1917). Orpheus (Orphée), 1908, cast 1980. Bronze, 57 1/2 x 30 x 49 1/4 in. (146.1 x 76.2 x 125.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 84.75.3 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.75.3_SL1.jpg)