Auguste RODIN (Paris, 1840 - Meudon, 1917) Female nude Watercolour over pencil line Signed, dated and dedicated 'à mon ami Gillet / A Rodin 1912' lower right Bears the number 569 top left (Tears, insolate) Nude, watercolour on pencil, signed and dated, by A. Rodin 7.87 x 9.84 in. 20 x 25 cm Provenance: Given by the artist to his friend Louis Gillet (according to the dedication) ; Collection Louis Gillet (1876-1943), Paris ; Then by descent; Private collection, Ile-de-France This powerful drawing of an extended figure was made around 1896-98, at a time when drawing was taking on a predominant role in Rodin's work. Blindly", without looking at his paper, Rodin made quick sketches of his models, who circulated around his studio, without him requiring a constrained pose. Rodin then used a tracing system to transfer these "snapshots" in pencil onto thicker paper, simplifying them by drawing them out, and colouring them. I've found the matrix that was used for our Figure étendue: it's a drawing of Femme nue allongée vers la gauche, une main au sol, D. 02309, in the Musée Rodin. The artist changed the direction in which the drawing was read before transposing the model's clean lines and using colour. Our Figure étendue can be compared with the drawing Lucifer dit Météore in the Morgan Library in New York. In both cases, the brown and ochre watercolour of the ball formed by the hair, a skilfully measured mixture of pigments and water, gives the hair a mineral appearance, as if it were gold powder. There is also the general impression of a figure floating in an abstract space. Other drawings in the Musée Rodin were produced in the same vein, at a time that marked a real turning point in Rodin's career. It was these drawings in natural tones, which Rodin associated with elements such as earth, ore, water, sea, mud, seaweed, etc., that he exhibited in large series. We know that the drawing for Figure étendue was selected for his very first four solo exhibitions - travelling - in Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague in 1899, where Rodin showed himself as a fully-fledged draughtsman for the first time. Louis Gillet (1876-1943) received this drawing much later. The circumstances of the dedication in 1912 are not known, but are illuminated by the abundant correspondence between the sculptor and the art critic preserved in the archives of the Musée Rodin in Paris. A scholar and museum curator before becoming "literary director" of the Revue des Deux Mondes, Gillet was probably introduced to Rodin by Gabriel Hanotaux. Founder of the Comité France-Amérique, Hanotaux commissioned Gillet in 1910 to write an article on the "Rodin Museum" in New York, to be illustrated with drawings. Numerous meetings and friendly exchanges with Rodin followed. In 1911, Rodin gave her his first drawing of a woman standing in profile, one of those "marvellous leaves", as attested by a letter in the correspondence. attests to. In 1912, the sculptor asked him to proofread his future book "Les Cathédrales de France" (published in 1914). Was it to thank him for this work that Rodin gave him this second drawing? In a letter to the artist dated 30 December 1912, Gillet wrote: "I admire the marvellous delicacy of your sensations, the winged, immaterial quality of your prose, which is a poetry truly comparable to your drawings". (arch. Musée Rodin). We would like to thank Christina Buley-Uribe for kindly confirming the authenticity of this drawing by means of a visual examination, and for writing this note. A certificate dated 16 February 2025 will be given to the buyer. Auguste RODIN (Paris, 1840 - Meudon, 1917) 20 x 25 cm This powerful drawing of an extended figure was made around 1896-98, at a time when drawing was taking on a predominant role in Rodin's work. Blind", without looking at his paper, Rodin made quick sketches of his models, who circulated around his studio, without him requiring a constrained pose. Rodin then used a tracing system to transfer these "snapshots" in pencil onto thicker paper, simplifying them by drawing them out, and colouring them. I've found the matrix that was used for our Figure étendue: it's a drawing of Femme nue allongée vers la gauche, une main au sol, D. 02309, in the Musée Rodin. The artist changed the direction in which the drawing was read before transposing the model's clean lines and painting it in colour. Our Figure étendue can be compared with the drawing Lucifer dit Météore in the Morgan Library in New York. In both cases, the brown and ochre watercolour of the ball formed by the hair, a skilfully measured mixture of pigments and water, gives the hair a mineral appearance, as if it were gold powder. There is also the general impression of a figure floating in an abstract space. Other drawings in the Musée Rodin were produced in the same vein, at a time that marked a real turning point in Rodin's career. It was these drawings in natural tones, which Rodin associated with elements such as earth, ore, water, sea, mud, seaweed, etc., that he exhibited in large series. We know that the drawing for Figure étendue was selected for his very first four solo exhibitions - travelling - in Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague in 1899, where Rodin showed himself as a fully-fledged draughtsman for the first time. Louis Gillet (1876-1943) received this drawing much later. The circumstances of the dedication in 1912 are not known, but are illuminated by the abundant correspondence between the sculptor and the art critic preserved in the archives of the Musée Rodin in Paris. A scholar and museum curator before becoming "literary director" of the Revue des Deux Mondes, Gillet was probably introduced to Rodin by Gabriel Hanotaux. Founder of the Comité France-Amérique, Hanotaux commissioned Gillet in 1910 to write an article on the "Rodin Museum" in New York, to be illustrated with drawings. Numerous meetings and friendly exchanges with Rodin followed. In 1911, Rodin gave him his first drawing of a woman standing in profile, one of those "marvellous leaves", as evidenced by attests to. In 1912, the sculptor asked him to proofread his future book "Les Cathédrales de France" (published in 1914). Was it to thank him for this work that Rodin gave him this second drawing? In a letter to the artist dated 30 December 1912, Gillet wrote: "I admire the marvellous delicacy of your sensations, the winged, immaterial quality of your prose, which is a poetry truly comparable to your drawings". (arch. Musée Rodin). We would like to thank Christina Buley-Uribe for kindly confirming the authenticity of this drawing by means of a visual examination and for writing this notice. A certificate dated 16 February 2025 will be given to the buyer.