Rodin spent seven years researching and preparing for this monumental sculpture of famed French author Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850). Upon receiving the commission from the Société des gens de lettres in 1891, Rodin completely immersed himself with his subject, studying the writer’s life and work, and posing models who resembled Balzac for numerous preparatory studies.
Early on in his creative process, Rodin decided not to base his portrait on any earlier likenesses of Balzac, but to instead attempt to evoke the personality and creative nature of his subject. Rodin travelled to the French province of Tours, where Balzac lived, seeking out models who he felt shared Balzac’s physical type.
For the final version, Rodin depicted Balzac wrapped in a monk’s robe, which he wore while writing. A plaster version of the sculpture was shown publicly in 1898. The work proved controversial, with many criticizing the sculpture as appearing shapeless and incomplete. Ultimately, the group that had commissioned the work from Rodin refused to accept the sculpture; a bronze version of the work was only finally cast and installed in Paris in 1939, decades after the artist’s death.
