Auguste Rodin

(French, 1840-1917)

Buste de Suzon (Taille Originale dite aussi Taille N°5)

bronze with golden brown patina

signed A. Rodin (at the rear, to the left); also with Cie des Bronzes/a /Bruxelles foundry stamp (at the rear, along the rim, to the right)

Conceived between 1873 and 1875, this example cast between 1875 and 1910.

height: 12 in. (30.5cm)

The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue critique de l'oeuvre sculpté d'Auguste Rodin currently being prepared by the Comité Rodin in collaboration with Galerie Brame & Lorenceau under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay under the archive number 2025-7318B.

Literature:

Vers l'Âge d'Airain, Rodin en Belgique, exh. cat., Musée Rodin, Paris, 1997, pp. 150-52, (illustration of another version).

Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin, vol. II, Paris, 2007, no. S.961, pp. 662-64 (illustrations of other versions).

Lot Essay:

Conceived between 1873 and 1875, Suzon is a tribute to Rodin’s mentor, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, under whom he apprenticed from 1864 to 1871. The bust evokes Carrier-Belleuse’s intimate portrayals of youthful, alluring women, while also drawing inspiration from 18th-century terracotta busts of elegant figures by sculptors such as Houdon and Clodion—indeed, Suzon was originally modeled in terracotta.

During his exile in Brussels amid the Franco-Prussian War, Rodin sold the reproduction rights for Suzon in bronze to the Compagnie des Bronzes, a local foundry. The firm edited the model in three sizes, all of which enjoyed lasting popularity. The present work belongs to the earliest and largest edition, cast during Rodin’s lifetime.

It is fitting that this exquisite bronze of Suzon was part of Mr. Rothberg’s collection. A Philadelphia gentleman who lived just steps from the city’s renowned Rodin Museum on the historic Parkway, Mr. Rothberg was a devoted admirer of the sculptor. He cherished this piece not only for its artistic merit but also for its rich, golden patina—a quality that resonated with his career in metal trading on the Stock Market.