Final Study for the Monument to Balzac 1897 - 1972

This is Rodin’s final study for the Monument to Balzac, made of bronze. Rodin was commissioned in 1891 by the Société des Gens de Lettres to create a monument to the celebrated French novelist Honoré de Balzac. At the time, there was a growing movement to erect public monuments to men of letters and other cultural figures, in an effort to celebrate national identity. Rodin, however, struggled to deliver the work, completing it only in 1898. What he presented was controversial. Eschewing traditional methods, he showed Balzac in a simple dressing gown, an image of raw creative genius. Critics deemed it an insult. It’s hard to deny that Rodin critiqued the institutional values and academic traditions of the French art world. To understand Rodin's bold artistic statement, one might consult contemporary literary journals and exhibition reviews, as well as the archives of the Société des Gens de Lettres. These sources give us unique insights into the complex dialogue between artist, institution, and society.