Gustav Mahler
Auguste Rodin
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Object Label
Alma Mahler, wife of the Viennese composer Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), provided this account of Rodin’s working methods in her recollection of her husband’s sitting for this portrait in 1909:
His method was unlike that of any other sculptor I have had the opportunity of watching. He first made flat surfaces in the rough lump, and then added little pellets of clay which he rolled between his fingers while he talked. He worked by adding to the lump instead of subtracting from it. As soon as we left he smoothed it all down and next day added more. I scarcely ever saw him with a tool in his hand.
His method was unlike that of any other sculptor I have had the opportunity of watching. He first made flat surfaces in the rough lump, and then added little pellets of clay which he rolled between his fingers while he talked. He worked by adding to the lump instead of subtracting from it. As soon as we left he smoothed it all down and next day added more. I scarcely ever saw him with a tool in his hand.
Caption
Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917). Gustav Mahler, 1909; cast between 1910–1914. Bronze, 13 3/8 x 11 x 9 3/4 in. (34.0 x 27.9 x 24.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.10. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Artist
Cast by
Title
Gustav Mahler
Date
1909; cast between 1910–1914
Geography
Place made: France
Medium
Bronze
Classification
Dimensions
13 3/8 x 11 x 9 3/4 in. (34.0 x 27.9 x 24.8 cm)
Signatures
Proper left shoulder and on interior plate: "A. Rodin"
Markings
Back, on neck: ALEXIS RUDIER/FONDEUR.PARIS/2eme Epreuve
Credit Line
Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund
Accession Number
22.10
Frequent Art Questions
Which Rodin sculpture was cast while he was alive?
There is only one work in the show that we know was cast when Rodin was alive: the portrait bust of Gustav Mahler. The portrait of Father Pierre-Julien Eymard was possibly cast in his lifetime, or within a few years of Rodin passing.I find it interesting that even if there were multiples cast of each work, every piece has a slightly different surface patina that makes it unique.
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