Auguste RODIN (1840-1917). LE BAISER, 4th... - Lot 11 - Jean-Marc Delvaux

Auguste RODIN (1840-1917). LE BAISER, 4th reduction or small model. Bronze with shaded brown patina. H. 25.2 cm - W. 15.8 cm - D. 17.5 cm. Signed " A. Rodin" on the right-hand side of the rock, with the mark "Alexis Rudier / Fondeur Paris" on the rear right and with the inner stamp. Conceived in 1886, this reduced version in 1898, this bronze proof in 1928. Provenance: - Musée Rodin, Paris; - Eugène Rudier, Le Vésinet, Paris (acquired from the above, August 1928); - M. Paul Lefebvre-Dibon (acquired probably before 1936 by family tradition); - By descent. This 4th reduction version of Le Baiser was originally part of the publishing contract signed in 1898 between Auguste Rodin and the Leblanc-Barbedienne foundry. The contract, which lasted twenty years, covered the bronze edition of the Kiss in four sizes and in unlimited quantities. The 25-centimeter size is one of the two initial sizes of this subject, produced as early as 1898. In 1901 and 1904, two further sizes - 40 and 61 cm - were added to this edition. This model, known as the fourth reduction or petit modèle since it is the fourth and smallest size of the Baiser, would be produced by Barbedienne until 1918 in between 93 and 103 copies, depending on the census. To rationalize costs and improve the quality of these castings, in 1898 the Barbedienne foundry commissioned a bronze chef-modèle, which was used for the duration of the contract. In January 1920, after Rodin's death, the Rodin Museum purchased this master model, which it used to continue publishing the work. To the best of our knowledge, between 1920 and 1946, the Musée Rodin had twenty-one additional copies made by the Alexis Rudier foundry. The Rodin Committee had the opportunity to examine in great detail this bronze, which is typical of the sand castings produced by the Alexis Rudier foundry and which was executed for the Rodin Museum in August 1928. A letter from the Comité Auguste Rodin, dated November 13, 2023, will be given to the buyer, stipulating that this work will be included in the Comité's archives with a view to publication of the Catalogue Critique de l'Œuvre Sculpté d'Auguste Rodin, currently in preparation at Galerie Brame Lorenceau under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay, under number 2023-7030B.