The Walking Man (L'homme qui marche)

Auguste Rodin French
Cast by Alexis Rudier French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 800

One of Rodin’s best-known compositions, The Walking Man introduced radical notions of sculptural truncation and assembly into the modern artistic canon. Composed of a fragmented torso attached to legs made for a different figure, the work is neither organically functional nor physically whole. The artist considered it finished because it captured the essence of movement. The collector Elizabeth Robinson commissioned this small-scale cast from the sculptor in Paris. A French inscription on the base reads: "To Madame Nelson Robinson of New York, M. Rodin, happy to see his work The Walking Man represented in her salon, presents his affectionate respects to her."

The Walking Man (L'homme qui marche), Auguste Rodin (French, Paris 1840–1917 Meudon), Bronze, green patina, French

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