Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), Eternel printemps, second état, 3ème réduction. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2014.

signed 'Rodin' (on the right side of the base); inscribed with foundry mark 'F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR. PARIS. FRANCE' (on the back of the base); numbered '16' (on the underside), bronze with dark brown patina, Height: 15 5/8 in. (39.6 cm.). Length: 19 in. (48.2 cm.). Conceived in 1886; this bronze version cast between 1910 and 1914. Estimate $400,000 – $600,000

Provenance: Acquired by the family of the present owner, circa 1940.
PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED NEW YORK COLLECTION

Literature: G. Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1927, no. 69 (another cast illustrated, p. 42).
I. Jianou and C. Goldscheider, Rodin, Paris, 1967, p. 96.
J.L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, pp. 241-247, no. 32b (another cast illustrated).
A.E. Elsen, Rodin Rediscovered, Washington, 1981, p. 68 (larger clay version illustrated, fig. 313).
A.E. Elsen, Rodin's Art, The Rodin Collection of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for the Visual Arts at Stanford University, New York, 2003, pp. 494-497, no. 148 (another cast illustrated, pp. 494-495).
A. Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin, Paris, 2007, vol. I, p. 334, no. S. 2060 (another cast illustrated, pp. 331-336; marble version illustrated, p. 337).

Notes: This work will be included in the forthcoming Auguste Rodin catalogue critique de l'oeuvre sculpté currently being prepared by the Comité Auguste Rodin at Galerie Brame et Lorenceau under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay under the archive number 2014-4319B.

L'éternel printemps was one of Rodin's most popular compositions and one of the sculptor's greatest commercial successes. Also titled Zéphyr et la Terre and Cupidon et Psyché (there are small Cupid's wings on the back of the male figure), it was exhibited at the Salon of 1897. It was originally intended as a figural grouping for La porte de l'enfer, but as the tone of the commission evolved into a more tragic representation, the amorous couple was not included in the final version. As with many of his great figural groupings, Rodin developed the characters from earlier works. The female figure is based on Torse d'Adèle, which appears on the top left corner of the tympanum of La porte de l'enfer.

The dynamic arrangement of the bodies is characteristic of Rodin's innovative treatment of figures at this time. Animated by the dazzling play of light on the surface and the sweeping upward movement of the man, the couple seems ready to take flight. In fact, the man's back shows traces of wings that identify him as Cupid. The female figure is leaning against the tree-like formation behind her and Rodin deliberately preserves the enigma of whether or not she has indeed emerged from it. It is unsurprising that collectors have always been attracted to the potent combination of physical lyricism and romanticism that defines this work.

Christie's. IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART EVENING SALE INCLUDING PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF EDGAR M. BRONFMAN. 6 May 2014. New York, Rockefeller Plaza - http://www.christies.com/