Auguste Rodin (Le Printemps) dry point etching

Auguste Rodin (French 1840-1917) considered the father of modern sculpture. He was deeply inspired by tradition yet rebelled against its idealized forms. Over the course of a career that spanned the late 1800s and early 1900s, he introduced innovative practices that paved the way for modern sculpture. He believed that art should be true to nature, a philosophy that shaped his attitudes to models and materials.

Unusually this is not a sculpture but a dry point etching on arches paper. Rodin had learnt this technique from Alphonse Legros during a visit to London in 1881.

The motif of a female figure whose head is encircled by putti appeared first on a vase Rodin designed for the Sevres porcelain factory where he worked from 1879-1885.