The Hand of God 1895

Auguste Rodin made this marble sculpture, called The Hand of God, in France at a time when religious belief was being questioned by new scientific ideas. The image speaks to this tension. We see a rough, unfinished block of stone, representing the raw material of the earth. From this form emerges a hand, understood as the hand of God, gently holding the first man and woman. Rodin here references religious creation myths, but in a way that emphasizes the physical process of creation. He may even be inviting us to see the artist as a kind of god, shaping human forms from inert matter. Rodin was working at a time when museums and art schools were becoming increasingly important. Art historians study the effect of these institutions, and we can read Rodin's work as a commentary on the artist's own role within the social order. To understand this, we need to look at the social and intellectual context in which it was made.