1 / 18
Sculpture · 20th century
Danaïde
after Auguste Rodin (1840–1917)
Artist After Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) Medium Patinated bronze on a black marble base Foundry 'Alexis Rudier Fondeur Paris' foundry mark Edition '3/10' edition number Signature Signed in the mould A. Rodin Date Posthumous cast Dimensions 16 × 10¼ × 9¾ inches including base Condition Overall excellent condition with striking 'Rodin green' patina, very occasional and minor wear to extremities.
The present sculpture is not a cast from Rodin's lifetime (evidence of ceramic shell investment casting), and lacks the expected markings for an authorised posthumous cast from the Musée Rodin (which furthermore are typically issued in editions of 9, not 10). Most likely an 'unauthorised' cast made from the Rudier moulds, or via surmoulage, in the second half of the 20th century. It is however incredibly fine in detail and patina, and thus an unauthorised cast from original moulds seems more likely.
The Danaïde is among the most emotionally charged figures in Rodin's oeuvre. In Greek myth, the Danaïdes — the fifty daughters of Danaus, ruler of Argos — were compelled into marriage with the fifty sons of Aegyptus. On their wedding night, all but one — Hypermestra — murdered their husbands. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, this collective crime condemned them in the underworld to an endless and futile labour: carrying water in vessels that could never hold it. Rodin's figure belongs to this tragic narrative, showing one of the Danaids collapsed in exhaustion and despair, water pouring forth from the broken jug beneath her.
Conceived around the same time as Andromeda in 1885, the Danaïde was initially planned as part of the sculptural program for The Gates of Hell, although it was ultimately omitted from the final arrangement. The sculpture presents a figure of striking physical intensity and sensuality. The woman's body is tightly folded in upon itself, creating a compact spiral that accentuates the rhythmic curves of her torso and limbs, which appear almost to dissolve into the surrounding stone.
Rodin captures a moment of utter depletion: the figure seems slack, weighed down by exhaustion and isolation after her interminable task. A deliberate contrast of materials heightens the expressive effect — the polished softness of the flesh emerges against the rough, irregular texture of the base, which retains the character of raw rock. Her cascading hair echoes the motion of flowing water, subtly reinforcing the mythological theme of the endlessly escaping stream.
$4,000