Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Seated Nude Woman with... Lot 45

Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Seated Nude Woman with Hand on Breast, ca. 1908-1910 Graphite on paper Dedicated by Rodin: "amalio / to the artist/ Cuenca/ Aug. Rodin Height. Height: 20.2 cm; Width: 31.2 cm On the back, in graphite Nude woman seated in profile to the left, with one leg below the thigh Height 31.2 cm, width 20.2 cm (Small stains, marginal tears, slightly wrinkled paper). History: Gift from Rodin to Amalio Cuenca in 1910; according to family tradition, exchanged by Cuenca for a drawing by Zuloaga; then by descent, Zuloaga family; on deposit at the Zuloaga Museum in Zumaya. Bibl. Auguste Rodin i la selva relacio amb Espanya, La Longa and Museo Pablo Gargallo, Zaragoza (September 19-November 3, 1996), Fundacio "La Caica," Palma de Mallorca (November 20, 1996-January 19, 1997), cat. 147, repr. The work will be included in the catalog raisonné of Rodin's drawings at number 221101. A certificate of inclusion in the catalog raisonné from Madame Buley-Uribe will be given to the buyer. This drawing, dated around 1908, is exceptional both for its history and for its remarkable quality of execution. Originally dedicated to the flamenco guitarist Amalio Cuenca, it entered the collection of the Spanish painter Ignacio Zuloaga (1870-1945) probably shortly after 1910. According to a family tradition collected by Claudie Judrin, Cuenca exchanged his beautiful drawing for a work by his compatriot. Zuloaga and Rodin, who admired each other, became friends in 1903 and offered or exchanged sculptures for paintings (the important painting The Mayor of Torquemada, given by Zuloaga to Rodin in 1905, can still be seen on the walls of the Rodin Museum in Paris), but not drawings: this double-sided drawing of Rodin is therefore, to our knowledge, the only one that belonged to Zuloaga. Between 1910 and 1920, the Spanish painter transformed his studio into a private museum to exhibit his personal collection, including his sculptures of Rodin (Iris, Torso, Avarice and Lust, Minotaur) and this drawing, among paintings by El Greco and Goya. It was through Zuloaga that Rodin met Cuenca in Paris, as evidenced by an annotated business card: "My dear friend, I am very happy to recommend Mr. Cuenca who is a true guitarist of great character. He will bring with him two dancers who I believe will please you very much. (arch. Rodin Museum). Rodin was a regular at the flamenco shows organized by Zuloaga, who had his studio in Paris, on rue Caulaincourt. Some drawings of dancing women can be linked to these sessions, but it is unlikely that our drawing was executed in these circumstances: we are in the presence of two nude women who appear to be posing seated, in the privacy of the sculptor's studio. Rodin is in full control of his technique of "blind" drawing, of which this sheet is undoubtedly one of his finest achievements. The method consists in not taking his eyes off the model while the artist's hand tries to capture the "flow of his impressions, passing from his eye to his hand. "My aim is to test to what extent my hands feel what my eyes see." (Ludovici, 1926). The result is a drawing executed with great calligraphic freedom that Rodin presents without hesitation as a finished work. Indeed, despite the distortions of the limbs (for example, the leg under the thigh masterfully captured in a single stroke and the head cut off by the edge of the paper in the momentum of the gesture), Rodin signs the back as the front of the sheet. It is very rare that at this period Rodin used both pages of the same sheet. On the signed side, the model's face, taken up in pencil by splitting it, vibrates like a guitar string.