The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of November 29, 2023

The Fall of the Angels

c. 1890–1900

Auguste Rodin

(French, 1840–1917)

France, late 19th-early 20th Century

Marble

Overall: 53.5 x 69.9 x 40.6 cm (21 1/16 x 27 1/2 x 16 in.)

Gift of Carrie Moss Halle in memory of Salmon Portland Halle 1960.85

Location

218 European Sculpture

Description

The entwined couple in this sculpture recalls the figures on Rodin’s monumental doorway The Gates of Hell. Struck by Dante Alighieri’s descriptions of the damned suffering in hell because of their sins of the flesh, Rodin populated his portal with embracing lovers symbolic of carnal desire and sensual pleasure. Here, a winged figure alludes to the biblical account of the angels who were cast out of Heaven after siding with Satan (Revelation 12:4). Rodin preferred marble for erotic subjects. The juxtaposition between the smooth, sensual surfaces of the figures and the rough-hewn areas below gives the impression that the couple is blossoming into life from hard, lifeless stone.

Inscriptions

Inscription

signed under dexter wing of male figure: A. Rodin.

Provenance
Mrs. Salmon P. Halle, Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Citations
Lee, Sherman E. "Year in Review." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 52, no. 9 (1965): 124-57. p. 152, no. 17 as "Fall of Icarus" www.jstor.org
Tacha, Athena. Rodin Sculpture in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967. Mentioned: p. 100, cat. no. XVII; Reproduced: p. 72, Plate 88 archive.org
Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1965. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27-November 14, 1965).

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum, China (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).

Picasso and the Mysteries of Life: La Vie. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-April 21, 2013).

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/1960.85