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The Golden Age

1871–78
Not on view
Although Rodin rarely made drawings with this level of finish in preparation for his sculptural projects, the staging of the figural group on a pedestal-like platform suggests a close relationship with sculpture. It is similar in style to the decorative sculptures he made in the 1870s while working in the Paris and Brussels studios of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. The title refers to the first of the successive ages of humanity according to Greek mythology—a time of youthfulness and harmony in contrast to the violent Age of Bronze, the subject of Rodin’s first important full-length sculpture.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Golden Age
  • Artist: Auguste Rodin (French, Paris 1840–1917 Meudon)
  • Date: 1871–78
  • Medium: Black chalk heightened with white on faded blue paper
  • Dimensions: 18 7/16 x 12 in. (46.8 x 30.4 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1963
  • Object Number: 63.92.3
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Young woman, Auguste Rodin French, Cast plaster, French
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Study of a hand, Auguste Rodin French, Cast plaster, French
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Bust of Bellona, Auguste Rodin French, Drypoint, third state of three, before bevelled plate
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Bust of Bellona, Auguste Rodin French, Drypoint, third state of 3
Bust of Bellona
Auguste Rodin
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