A catalogue raisonné of the carved stones and marbles

Research done in the last fifty years has brought to light and analysed the fundamental importance of plaster in Rodin’s work. A catalogue was made of the artist’s bronzes (Rodin et le Bronze, 2007, under the direction of Antoinette Le Normand-Romain). Then, for the exhibition La Chair, le Marbre (Rodin, Flesh and Marble, Paris, 2012-2013; Rome and Milan, 2013-2014), the Musée Rodin undertook a complete census of the sculptor’s carved stones and marbles.

Rodin’s marble sculptures number around 450 and represent some 220 subjects; the location of about 100 of them is currently unknown. They will be presented in an online catalogue raisonné that will also inventory the associated pointing models and marble casts. This catalogue will not only advance our knowledge of the dating and history of the works; it will also provide new information on Rodin’s studio with its practitioners and pointers (an online directory of whom is in the offing). The catalogue will be published in four stages (from 2022 to 2025). It will be gradually added to as the research progresses, and will propose a series of articles on the history, technique and aesthetics of Rodin’s marble sculptures.