Hugo/Rodin: Clash of the Titans

Published on 10 June 2020, by Philippe Dufour

Auction on 20 June 2020 - 14:00 (CEST) - 20, rue Jean-Jaurès - 06400 Cannes

The meeting between Victor Hugo and Auguste Rodin could only result in a masterpiece… In Cannes, this rare bust – one of seven extant period proofs – looks set to fire up admirers of the two 19^th century geniuses.

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), bust of Victor Hugo, “To the illustrious master”, 1883,... Hugo/Rodin: Clash of the Titans

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), bust of Victor Hugo, “To the illustrious master”, 1883, "Griffoul" version with integrated base, c. 1892, bronze with green-shaded black patina, stamp "Alexis Rudier founder in Paris" November 1916, 38.4 x 16.4 x 17.2 cm.
Estimate: €220,000/260,000

With his beard and piercing gaze, this face surely typifies the most famous of all French writers, captured in 1883 at the end of his life and the height of his glory. Here his features have been transposed into bronze by another late 19th-century giant: Auguste Rodin. They only met through the determination of a Paris journalist,…

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