Madame X (Countess Anna-Elizabeth de Noailles) 1902 - 1912

This is Rodin’s Madame X, Countess Anna-Elizabeth de Noailles, made from marble, but when, exactly, is anyone’s guess. There’s something so delicious about the way Rodin just barely nudges us from the rough, uncarved block, to the smooth surface of the Countess’s face and neck. That contrast is everything. You can almost feel Rodin’s hand at work, the point where the tool hits the stone, the rhythm of each strike. The transition from the rough base to the polished skin tells a story about the artistic process, the journey from raw material to refined form. The way light falls and is trapped in the textures of the work is gorgeous. The blank stare of the Countess pulls me in. It’s kind of cool to think about how Rodin was in conversation with sculptors like Bernini, centuries before. Art’s just a long, ongoing conversation, right?