Iris Waking a Nymph (Iris éveillant une nymphe)
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Here, the deity Iris, messenger of the gods, eagerly alights on the knee of a shy nymph who recoils in surprise at this sudden incitement to love. Rodin frequently evoked nymphs, bacchantes, and other mythological personages in his works. This did not reflect an allegiance to classical literature, but rather recognition of the popularity of these kinds of titillating mythological subjects during the Second French Empire, when he was beginning his career. Often, as with this work, a mythological title provided an acceptable context for an erotic theme.
Caption
Auguste Rodin French, 1840–1917. Iris Waking a Nymph (Iris éveillant une nymphe), ca. 1885, cast 1979. Bronze, 13 5/8 × 8 5/8 × 8 1/2 in., 16.5 lb. (34.6 × 21.9 × 21.6 cm, 7.48kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor, 84.77.6. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.77.6_transp6258.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Cast by
Title
Iris Waking a Nymph (Iris éveillant une nymphe)
Date
ca. 1885, cast 1979
Geography
Place made: France
Medium
Bronze
Classification
Dimensions
13 5/8 × 8 5/8 × 8 1/2 in., 16.5 lb. (34.6 × 21.9 × 21.6 cm, 7.48kg)
Signatures
Proper right, bottom: "A. Rodin"
Inscriptions
Proper right, bottom: "No 12"
Markings
Back: "E. GODARD./FONDr" Back: "© by Musée Rodin 1979"
Credit Line
Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Accession Number
84.77.6
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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