Sotheby's May Sales to Feature Three Bronzes from Auguste Rodin's Gates of Hell - On View in London
Among the highlights of Sotheby’s 7 May 2013 Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in New York are three exquisite bronzes from Auguste Rodin’s masterpiece The Gates of Hell. The group – consigned from a distinguished private collection – is led by a rare, early cast of Le Penseur (‘The Thinker’) from 1906 (est. $8/12 million). Renowned as an icon of art history, this composition numbers among the most celebrated sculptures ever created.
Along with Le Penseur, Le Baiser (‘The Kiss’) is Rodin’s best-loved sculpture. Where The Thinkerrepresents the head, or reason, The Kiss is a canonical image of the heart. Originally intended for the left side of The Gates of Hell, the work portrays another scene from Dante’s Inferno: the ill-fated lovers Paolo and Francesca, shown in a passionate embrace. The superb bronze of Le Baiser on offer this May was cast in April 1909 (est. $800,000/1.2 million). Ugolin et ses enfants (‘Ugolino and His Children’) was cast only three times during Rodin’s lifetime – Sotheby’s is pleased to present the first of these, dating from 1883 (est. $800,000/1.2 million).
All three works by Rodin are on view in London, alongside a spectacular exhibition of highlights from spring sales in New York including masterworks by Paul Cézanne (est. $25/35 million), Amedeo Modigliani (est. $20/30 million), Gerhard Richter (est. $30/40 million) and Francis Bacon (est. $30/40 million).
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