Not currently on display at the V&A

Auguste Rodin

Relief
ca. 1902 (made)
Artist/Maker
John Tweed (sculptor)
Place of origin
England (made)

This plaster relief representing Auguste Rodin was made by John Tweed in ca. 1902. The close personal and professional relationship between Tweed and Rodin is discussed in the monograph on Tweed by Lendal Tweed. Tweed and his family first visited Rodin in 1902 and this relief may date from this time. Lendal Tweed writes: '...but it was only with the growing friendship with Tweed that his [Rodin's] reputation began to spread considerably on this side of the Channel. It is not too much to say - and Rodin himself freely acknowledged it - that to John Tweed more than to any other man was due the high opinion of the French sculptor that persists in England today...' (Tweed1936, p. 98).
Rodin's gift to the Museum in 1914 of eighteen examples of his work - presented in admiration of British soldiers fighting alongside his countrymen - was instigated primarily by Tweed (Mus. nos. A.33 to A.50-1914).


Object details

Categories
Reliefs
Portraits
Object type
Relief
TitleAuguste Rodin (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Plaster
Brief description
Relief, plaster in wood frame, of Auguste Rodin, by John Tweed, England, ca. 1902
Physical description
Plaster relief, the bearded subject facing left.
Dimensions
  • Height: 39.2cm (relief)
  • Width: 31.7cm (relief)
Object history
Bequeathed by Sir Claude Phillips in 1924. A number of works by Rodin were included in the same bequest: a plaster statuette of Despair, and a plaster relief of the Young Mother by Rodin (Mus. nos. A.24 and A.25-1924), are both inscribed with a dedication to Phillips, who was a friend of the sculptor. Four dry-points by Rodin from this bequest are in the Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings. The present piece was on loan to the Tate Gallery from 1937 to 2000.
Summary
This plaster relief representing Auguste Rodin was made by John Tweed in ca. 1902. The close personal and professional relationship between Tweed and Rodin is discussed in the monograph on Tweed by Lendal Tweed. Tweed and his family first visited Rodin in 1902 and this relief may date from this time. Lendal Tweed writes: '...but it was only with the growing friendship with Tweed that his [Rodin's] reputation began to spread considerably on this side of the Channel. It is not too much to say - and Rodin himself freely acknowledged it - that to John Tweed more than to any other man was due the high opinion of the French sculptor that persists in England today...' (Tweed1936, p. 98).
Rodin's gift to the Museum in 1914 of eighteen examples of his work - presented in admiration of British soldiers fighting alongside his countrymen - was instigated primarily by Tweed (Mus. nos. A.33 to A.50-1914).
Bibliographic references
  • Bilbey, Diane and Trusted Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London, 2002, p. 472, cat. no. 764
  • Newton, Joyce. Rodin is a British Institution. Burlington Magazine, CXXXVI, Dec. 1994, pp. 824-825, ill. fig. 41
  • Tweed, Lendal, John Tweed: Sculptor. A Memoir, London, 1936, p. 98
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.29-1924

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Record createdAugust 31, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O102917/auguste-rodin-relief-john-tweed/
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