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Nijinsky (?)

modeled 1912
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 800
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
On May 29, 1912, Rodin attended the premiere of Vaslav Nijinsky’s modern ballet Afternoon of a Faun, which scandalized Parisian audiences with its erratic choreography and explicit content. The following morning, a front-page newspaper editorial signed by Rodin praised the “deliberately awkward” and “jerky” movement of the dancers. Nijinsky posed for Rodin a few days later. The artist evokes the choregrapher’s avant-garde style in the angularity of this torqued figure, possibly a depiction of the dancer himself.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Nijinsky (?)
  • Artist: Auguste Rodin (French, Paris 1840–1917 Meudon)
  • Date: modeled 1912
  • Culture: French, Paris
  • Medium: Plaster
  • Dimensions: Overall: 7 1/2 × 3 3/4 × 3 1/2 in. (19.1 × 9.5 × 8.9 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Lent by Iris Cantor, 1997
  • Object Number: L.1997.3
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts