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The Clenched Left Hand (Study for Hand of Pierre de Wiessant)

Founder Cast by Georges Rudier French
modeled ca. 1885, cast 1974
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 800
To Rodin, hands communicated as forcefully as the human face. His independent sculptures of hands are portraits of emotions. This emphatically modeled, dramatically gesturing hand—that both seeks and draws away, that clenches but cannot grasp—is one of Rodin’s most compelling depictions of powerless despair.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Clenched Left Hand (Study for Hand of Pierre de Wiessant)
  • Artist: Auguste Rodin (French, Paris 1840–1917 Meudon)
  • Founder: Cast by Georges Rudier (French)
  • Date: modeled ca. 1885, cast 1974
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: Overall (wt. confirmed): 18 1/4 × 10 3/8 × 7 5/8 in., 23.1 lb. (46.4 × 26.4 × 19.4 cm, 10.5 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Bronze
  • Credit Line: Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1984
  • Object Number: 1984.364.13
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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