Details

Object type

figure

Title

Eve after the Fall

Artist/Maker

Auguste Rodin

Place Associated

France (place of manufacture)

Date

1882-1883

Materials

bronze

Dimensions

overall: 750 mm x 450 mm x 420 mm 2300 g

Description

Smoothly-finished dark bronze figure of a nude woman standing on a square base. Her head is bent low, and her hair is tied at the back. Her arms are bent across her chest, the left hand shielding her face. Her left leg is bent.

Rodin left his original, 1881, life-sized version of ‘Eve’ unfinished. It wasn’t until 1897 that he returned to it, casting it in bronze and exhibiting it in 1899. In the meantime, however, the artist created a smaller version of ‘Eve’.

Although they appear similar at first glance, this smaller ‘Eve’, created around 1882, is not simply a straightforward reduction of the original sculpture. The hair, left hand and fingers, and the left foot all appear different in the smaller version. Moreover, the original, unfinished ‘Eve’ features a rough and uneven surface, while that of the small ‘Eve’ appears smooth and carefully-modelled.

The smaller Eve became very popular amongst collectors, being the right size for domestic display. It was cast many times in bronze, and also proved popular as a carved marble.

This version was cast by the foundry Alexis Rudier, probably between 1903 and 1917. Sir William Burrell bought it in 1921 from the Parisian Galerie Danthon, before donating the sculpture as part of his bequest to the City of Glasgow in 1944.

Credit Line/Donor

Gifted by Sir William and Lady Burrell to the City of Glasgow, 1944

Collection

Burrell Collection: European Statuary Bronzes

ID Number

7.12

Location

Burrell Collection