The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of November 29, 2023

Fallen Caryatid Carrying Her Stone

1880–81?

Auguste Rodin

(French, 1840–1917)

France, 19th century

Bronze

Overall: 43.5 x 29.2 x 31.8 cm (17 1/8 x 11 1/2 x 12 1/2 in.)

In memory of Ralph King, gift of Mrs. Ralph King; Ralph T. Woods, Charles G. King; and Frances King Schafer 1946.352

Location

not on view

Description

A caryatid is a column in classical Greek architecture carved to resemble a female figure. Rodin originally designed Fallen Caryatid Carrying Her Stone to serve as one of the figures on his monumental sculptural doorway The Gates of Hell. While Greek caryatids are typically draped, Rodin stripped the body of clothing and depicted the caryatid crushed under the weight of a stone, symbolically suggesting a state of physical suffering or emotional anguish. He exhibited Fallen Caryatid as an independent sculpture as early as 1883 and produced multiple versions in marble and bronze.

Inscriptions

Inscription

on base, right front: Alexis Rudier/Fondeur, Paris; left rear, on base: A. Rodin. Sticker on inside: P. Navez Exposition de Pittsburgh Caryatide Musée Rodin No. 764.

Provenance
Mrs. Ralph King, Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Citations
Tacha, Athena. Rodin Sculpture in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967. Mentioned: p. 98-99, cat. no. XII; Reproduced: p. [58], Plate 73 archive.org
Tacha, Athena. A Supplement to Rodin Sculpture in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned: p. 131S, cat. no. XII
Exhibition history

Pittsburgh, PA: 19th International Exhibition, 1920, cat. no. 386.

Baron Gros, Painter of Battles: The First Romantic Painter. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 8-April 15, 1956).

Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008).

Rodin-100 Years. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 1, 2017-May 13, 2018).

Rodin—100 Years. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 1, 2017-May 13, 2018).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1946.352