Rodin, Auguste (1840-1917)
Étude pour La France ou Saint Georges (Study for France or Saint George)
c.1902–1903
Bronze, 49.3 x 44 x 37.8 cm
Musée Camille Claudel, Nogent-sur-Seine
© Musée Camille Claudel, photo by Yves Bourel
Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin shared their lives and studios for about ten years, exchanging ideas, models, and influences. Their life together also gave rise to several works modeled by Rodin after Claudel‘s features, including after their separation, as seen here. The sculpture was initially titled Byzantine Princess or Empress of the Late Roman Empire, then Saint George in 1904, and France in 1912. This bust version is considered a study preceding the high relief. The latter was later enlarged and given by the French state to the United States to be incorporated into a monument dedicated to the explorer Samuel Champlain (Crown Point, New York). The armor, as well as the dragon visible on the helmet and breastplate, refer to Saint George, but they can also represent, in the guise of Minerva, an allegory of Free France. (MCC)
See also:
• Claudel, Camille (1864-1943)