Description:

Rodin Auguste

Auguste Rodin ALS Written to his Biographer, Gustave Geffroy

 

1p ALS inscribed overall in French and signed by French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) as "Aug Rodin" at bottom. On custom cream stationery with "77 Rue de Varenne" letterhead, written from the Hotel Biron in Paris on September 28, 1911. With expected toning, light paper folds, and isolated light soiling, else near fine. The letter measures 4.75" x 6.25." Accompanied by an original envelope postmarked September 30, 1911 and bearing a 10 centime red Marianne stamp. Letter opened at top and with minor mounting traces verso.

 

In the fall of 1911, Rodin invited his one-time biographer Gustave Geffroy (1855-1926) to lunch. He addressed the letter to Geffroy at the Avenue des Gobelins, where the latter had served as Director of the Gobelins tapestry factory since 1908.

 

Rodin wrote: "Do me the honor of coming to lunch with me Saturday. I will wait for you around noon, 77 rue de Varenne. I pray that you find here, my dear Geoffrey, the expression of my remembrance and of our affectionate friendship."

 

Auguste Rodin lived at 77 Rue de Varenne between 1908 and his death in 1917. The edifice was an eighteenth-century chateau called the Hotel Biron which had been formerly occupied by a Catholic order. Rodin donated his works to the French state after 1911 and the Musee Rodin was officially incorporated in 1916. Visitors can view Rodin's statues in situ today.

 

Gustave Geffroy was a journalist and art critic whose laudatory article "Le Statuaire Rodin" appeared in the September 1889 issue of Les Lettres et Les Arts. This complimentary portrait included a brief biography, an overview of Rodin's major works with photos, and an account of a visit to the sculptor's workshop. Geffroy compared Rodin's skills to those of superlative ancient Greek sculptors and medieval cathedral stone masons. In addition to Rodin, Geffroy also promoted Impressionist artists Monet and Cezanne. Rodin sculpted Geffroy in 1905.

 

Rodin had critics, but he was generally recognized as an artistic genius even during his lifetime. The sculptor of clay, plaster, marble, and bronze combined classicism with realism to create dynamic statues like The Kiss (1889).

 

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