Balzac, Midnight, 1908, printed 1940s
Gelatin silver print
Edward Steichen
American, 1879-1973
American photographer Edward Steichen was among Rodin’s many admirers who defended the sculptor’s work in the wake of the Balzac monument’s official rejection. Steichen first traveled to Paris in 1900 to meet Rodin and to see the infamous sculpture. Years later, he was invited to Rodin’s studio to photograph the artist and his work. The sculptor had placed a plaster cast of Balzac outdoors where Steichen photographed it by moonlight. Rodin was profoundly moved by Steichen’s haunting images declaring, “Your photographs will make the world understand my Balzac.”
Gift of the B. Gerald Cantor Art Foundation, M.87.74.4
