Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Balzac, head study C, with cut-out chest sculpture, circa 1916 Richly shaded black-brown patinated bronze sculpture Stamped "A. RODIN Signed in relief "Auguste Rodin" below the sculpture Foundry stamp: Alexis RUDIER Fondeur Early edition from the artist's lifetime, circa 1916 (source: Galerie Univers Du Bronze, Paris). H. 27 cm; L. 15 cm Resting on a beige veined marble pedestal. PROVENANCE : - Galerie Univers Du Bronze, Paris - Private collection, Paris NOTE : - A certificate of authenticity from Galerie Univers Du Bronze, Paris, will be given to the purchaser. - The Société des gens de lettres commissions Auguste RODIN to create a statue of the great writer Honoré de BALZAC. - Auguste RODIN made the unconventional choice of highlighting the power of the writer's genius with an imposing sculpture, a far cry from the image his patrons had of the writer. Auguste RODIN had to contend with the controversial DREYFUS affair, forcing him to exceed the stipulated delivery deadlines, he was forced to repay the advance he had received. The monument to Honoré de BALZAC, when it was exhibited in 1898, was very poorly received by the public. The Société des gens de lettres rejected it, describing it as a "thousand-year-old menhir", a "penguin" or "a coal sack". Admirers supported the artist. Émile ZOLA and Claude MONET wrote that "c'est absolument beau et grand, c'est superbe". Time has seen to it that this sculpture as a manifesto of modern art.