Head of Sorrow, Small Model (Tête de la Douleur, petit modèle)

Rodin sculpted a head as part of the original clay figure for this work, but it accidently broke off, presumably due to its weight and position leaning over the body. It is a testament to his belief that a work of art need not include the entire human form to realize its full expressive potential that he decided to cast the work in its headless state.

Rodin often encouraged his models to adopt unusual poses such as this one, as opposed to those from the stale repertoire of academic art.