Right Foot c. 1880

This small plaster sculpture, "Right Foot," was made by Auguste Rodin, though its exact date is unknown. Rodin lived through a period of massive social change in France, including the rise of industrialization and the Franco-Prussian War. Rodin was deeply interested in human anatomy, especially the way that the body could express emotion. His focus on the body’s expressive capabilities positions him within a history of representing identity through the physical form. The fragment of the foot allows us to think about the body, not as a perfect whole, but as a collection of parts, each with its own story to tell. Rodin's work often challenged traditional representations of beauty and the body. By isolating a single part, he asks us to consider the beauty and expressiveness of the foot itself, and to think about how the body carries us through the world. This piece invites us to contemplate the weight of history and personal experience that we carry with us, both physically and emotionally.