Cybele, large model (Cybèle, grand modèle)
European Art
Rodin first conceived a small version of this figure for The Gates of Hell. In 1904 he had it enlarged to monumental size and exhibited it at the Paris Salon as “a figure.” In 1914, however, Rodin agreed to call it Cybele, after the ancient earth-mother goddess. Although he was known not to invest titles with too much significance, this one clearly encouraged a connection he made between the figure’s ample form and notions of female abundance and fertility.
Its lack of a head and arm reinforced an association with the ancient fragments Rodin studied and collected. Partial figures—with no immediately clear identity or narrative—kept the focus on his modeling, which, according to the artist, was the means by which “flesh lives, vibrates, struggles, and suffers.”
Its lack of a head and arm reinforced an association with the ancient fragments Rodin studied and collected. Partial figures—with no immediately clear identity or narrative—kept the focus on his modeling, which, according to the artist, was the means by which “flesh lives, vibrates, struggles, and suffers.”
MEDIUM
Bronze
DATES
1905; cast 1981
DIMENSIONS
64 3/8 x 30 1/4 x 46 5/8 in., 637 lb. (163.5 x 76.8 x 118.4 cm) (show scale)
MARKINGS
Back, lower edge of base, foundry stamp: "F*C"
Back, lower edge of base: "© by Musée Rodin 1981"
SIGNATURE
Front, at feet: "A. Rodin"
INSCRIPTIONS
At feet: "No 1"
COLLECTIONS
European Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
85.172
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917). Cybele, large model (Cybèle, grand modèle), 1905; cast 1981. Bronze, 64 3/8 x 30 1/4 x 46 5/8 in., 637 lb. (163.5 x 76.8 x 118.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor, 85.172. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 85.172_SL1.jpg)
EDITION
Edition: 1/12
IMAGE
overall, 85.172_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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