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Fallen Caryatid Carrying an Urn

modeled 1883, cast 1981
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 800
Fallen Caryatid Carrying an Urn, originally titled Sorrow, was considered by Rodin and his contemporaries as among his best compositions. Unlike the standing caryatids (female support figures) of classical tradition, Rodin’s version folds into herself, compressed beneath the weight of the vessel she carries. In another large variant, the caryatid bears a massive rock that the poet Rainer Maria Rilke metaphorically described as the "burden . . . from which we can find no escape."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Fallen Caryatid Carrying an Urn
  • Artist: Auguste Rodin (French, Paris 1840–1917 Meudon)
  • Founder: Coubertin Foundry
  • Date: modeled 1883, cast 1981
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: Overall (wt. confirmed): 45 1/4 × 36 3/4 × 31 1/8 in., 434 lb. (114.9 × 93.3 × 79.1 cm, 196.9 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Bronze
  • Credit Line: Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor, 1985
  • Object Number: 1985.56.1
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Fallen Caryatid Carrying an Urn, Auguste Rodin French, Cast terracotta, French
Fallen Caryatid Carrying an Urn
Auguste Rodin
1883
Fallen Caryatid Carrying Her Stone, Auguste Rodin French, Bronze, French
Fallen Caryatid Carrying Her Stone
Auguste Rodin
Coubertin Foundry
modeled 1881, cast 1981
Young woman, Auguste Rodin French, Cast plaster, French
Young woman
Auguste Rodin
modeled probably before 1889, cast before 1912
Study of a hand, Auguste Rodin French, Cast plaster, French
Study of a hand
Auguste Rodin
last quarter 19th–early 20th century
Study of a hand, Auguste Rodin French, Cast plaster, French
Study of a hand
Auguste Rodin
20th century

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