St. John the Baptist

Auguste Rodin

original model 1880, cast 1883 · Bronze · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This early bronze betrays the raw physical and emotional intensity that set Rodin’s work apart from conventional sculpture of his era. The saint’s gouged eyes, sunken cheeks, and tousled locks convey the spiritual ferocity with which he announces Christ’s coming. A painted plaster version of the bust (which Rodin derived from his over-life-size, full-length figure Saint John the Baptist Preaching of 1878) was first exhibited as an independent work in the Paris Salon of 1879. Donated to The Met by Samuel P. Avery, a founding trustee, this was the first Rodin sculpture to enter the collection.

Artist

Auguste Rodin

Date

original model 1880, cast 1883

Medium

Bronze

Culture

French

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Samuel P. Avery, 1893