Pierre de Wiessant, Nude Study 1885 - 1950

Auguste Rodin made this bronze nude study of Pierre de Wiessant, sometime in the late 19th century. It’s a study, meaning Rodin was working out an idea, trying to get it right – artmaking as a process. The way Rodin has worked the surface has this incredible tactile quality. The bronze almost looks like wet clay, you can see the marks of his fingers pulling and pushing at the material. I like the way the light catches and reflects on those ridges and lumps. Think about the hand raised to the face – the way the fingers are just barely formed, the tension in the arm, and the tilt of the head. There’s a real sense of internal struggle here. Rodin’s work reminds me of Medardo Rosso, another sculptor who was interested in capturing fleeting moments and emotions in bronze. Like Rosso, Rodin embraces ambiguity, and focuses on process over perfection.