Standing Figure, Torso Fragment, c. 1895. Plaster. 52 × 18 × 14 cm.
Lot 010 · Sculpture
Standing Figure, Torso Fragment
Attributed to the Rodin Circle
Year
c. 1895
Medium
Plaster
Dimensions
52 × 18 × 14 cm
Estimate
NZD 22,000–30,000
A torso of exceptional quality, the figure truncated at the thighs and above the shoulders in a manner that recalls Rodin's own practice of presenting fragments as complete works. The plaster surface retains the marks of the modelling tools and the artist's fingers, giving the work an immediacy that bronze casts cannot replicate. The musculature of the torso is rendered with anatomical precision and expressive force simultaneously — the tension in the abdomen and the slight twist of the hips suggest a figure in arrested motion.
Artist
Attributed to the Rodin Circle
Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) maintained a large studio practice in which assistants and followers worked closely with the master, producing works that range from direct casts of Rodin's own models to independent interpretations of his formal language. The attribution of works to the "Rodin Circle" acknowledges this complex collaborative environment without claiming direct authorship. The present fragment — a torso of considerable quality — bears the marks of a practitioner deeply familiar with Rodin's methods: the deliberate incompleteness, the emphasis on the expressive potential of the partial figure, and the quality of the plaster surface all point to the inner circle of the studio.