Torso (A Study for Ariane without Arms)

Auguste Rodin

ca. 1900–1905 · Terracotta · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

In the 1880s, Rodin began to break apart his sculptural studies and treat the fragments as independent works of art. He may have displayed this terracotta torso on its small wooden base in his studio until 1912, when he donated it to The Met. The scarred torso recalls the "noble vestiges" of the Parthenon that Rodin admired in the British Museum during his London sojourns.

Artist

Auguste Rodin

Date

ca. 1900–1905

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

French

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Auguste Rodin, 1912