The Age of Bronze (L'Age d'airain) 1876 - 1899

Auguste Rodin crafted this bronze sculpture, titled 'The Age of Bronze', sometime in the late 19th century. The figure's raised arm, a gesture laden with meaning, immediately catches the eye. We see it echoed across epochs, from ancient orators to religious iconography. Consider, for example, the orator, his arm raised to persuade, or the saint, hand lifted in blessing. In Rodin’s sculpture, this gesture seems to speak of awakening, of a man emerging from a dream or, perhaps, from the very earth. The pose is ambiguous, but the raised arm seems to carry a shared, ancestral memory. The meaning shifts, of course. The orator's gesture is one of command, the saint's, of benediction. Here, in Rodin’s bronze, we see a more primal, questioning expression. Has this figure just been struck by an idea, a revelation? This motif, reshaped by time, reflects our collective subconscious—a timeless symbol of humanity's awakening consciousness, echoing through the corridors of history and art.