Nero

Auguste Rodin

1900–1910 · Graphite with stumping, watercolor, and gouache · Drawings and Prints

A related work in the Musée Rodin suggests the model for this drawing was a woman, yet Rodin inscribed the sheet "Néron," or Nero, the legendarily cruel and decadent Roman emperor. The metamorphosis of the composition through the accumulation of bold, swirling graphite strokes, layers of watercolor and gouache, and the added title exemplifies the shifting of meaning possible with Rodin’s works.

Artist

Auguste Rodin

Date

1900–1910

Medium

Graphite with stumping, watercolor, and gouache

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1910