Saint John the Baptist (Primary Title)
Auguste Rodin, French, 1840-1917 (Artist)
From the 1880s until he died in 1917, Auguste Rodin figured alongside Claude Monet as one of France's principal artists of the period. One day in 1878, the sculptor was visited in his studio by an impoverished Italian man named Cesare Pignatelli, who hoped to make money as an artist’s model in France. His appearance immediately inspired Rodin, who wrote the following after their initial encounter: “Seeing him, I was seized with admiration; this uncouth and disheveled man had a look that expressed . . . all the violence of his race as well as its mystical character. Immediately, I thought of Saint John the Baptist, which is to say a wild man, a visionary, a believer, a precursor foretelling someone greater than himself.”
After making a full-size model, Rodin also created a bust version of the work in plaster, which he exhibited at the Salon of 1879. Saint John the Baptist was one of his first works to garner the degree of public attention that he would continue to receive throughout his career.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
