Crouching Woman at La Musée Rodin, France by Musée Rodin

Description

The original figure, conceived for the tympanum of The Gates of Hell , looks like a compact block with limbs gathered together and pressed tightly against the torso. This block-like sculpture reflects Rodin’s aesthetic analysis of Michelangelo’s sculpture: it is a work that, to quote the great Italian artist, could roll down a hill without breaking. One of the earliest figures modelled for The Gates of Hell , it was enlarged and slightly modified several years after its conception. In its simultaneously open and closed posture, the figure is representative of the raw eroticism expressed in some of Rodin’s works during this period. Not the eroticism found in his figures of naiads or The Kiss , but a dark, disturbing sexuality, often regarded as obscene because of the muffled violence that seems to emanate from the sculpture. The quasi-animal sensuality of this figure, nicknamed the “frog”, or a “batrachian” by some of Rodin’s contemporaries, is what made it so successful. Rodin reworked it in different materials and sizes, for example in I Am Beautiful and The Fallen Caryatid carrying her Stone or The Fallen Caryatid with Urn. Sculpted in 1882 by Rodin. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if…