Paolo and Francesca
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Paolo and Francesca is one of only two direct references in The Gates of Hell to the “Inferno” portion of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Dante encounters the couple in the second circle of Hell, where carnal sinners are punished. There, the condemned and slain pair, whose love was unconsummated, are together forever, constantly reminded of their first kiss but unable to satisfy their most passionate desires. Francesca confesses to Dante that there is “no greater grief than to recall a bygone happiness.” Rodin accentuated their eternal frustration by inserting a mass between their writhing bodies.
For Paolo’s yearning and tender face, Rodin reused his small Head of Sorrow (seen nearby).
Caption
Auguste Rodin French, 1840–1917. Paolo and Francesca, before 1886, cast 1981. Bronze, 11 3/4 x 23 1/4 x 10 5/8 in. (29.8 x 59.1 x 27.0 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 86.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.1_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Paolo and Francesca
Date
before 1886, cast 1981
Geography
Place made: France
Medium
Bronze
Classification
Dimensions
11 3/4 x 23 1/4 x 10 5/8 in. (29.8 x 59.1 x 27.0 cm)
Signatures
Behind male figure: "A. Rodin No 4"
Markings
On base, below female figure's buttocks: ".Georges Rudier./.Fondeur. Paris." On shelf supporting male figure's extended foot: "© by Musée Rodin 1981"
Credit Line
Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Accession Number
86.1
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
This one seems particularly shiny!
I love how Rodin has smoothed and polished the surface to draw attention to the heightened sensuality of this couple who are doomed to never satisfy their love.He liked the face of Paolo so much that he sold it as a separate sculpture under the title "Head of Sorrow." You can see a small version nearby.So two real humans actually did this, right?
In this case, it's likely that he had two models pose separately and then fit the two clay models together. He also carved the faces separately as well, based on another model and created a composite.That's quite typical of Rodin's work. You'll notice that one section of the exhibition is titled, "The Body in Pieces," which explores his process of reusing and reconfiguring existing forms to generate new compositions.The hands and arms are also a bit out of scale, right?It seems so, yes. Rodin was of the opinion that a single part of a figure could convey the same meaning as the whole. He often enlarged hands and feet to emphasize a particular emotion—in this case, perhaps longing, desire, and frustration.So even the expressiveness of one professionally trained body wouldn’t satisfy him, he had to assemble his own version of perfect human body.Yes, that or what he thought was the perfect combination of attributes, both real and imagined, that most completely portrayed the emotion of the figure, not just their physicality.
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