Eve after the Fall
Modeled 1883, carved c. 1886
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
76.2 × 27.4 × 21 cm (30 × 11 × 8 1/4 in.)
Classification
statuette
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
16963
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Auguste Rodin’s sculpture Eve owes its genesis to The Gates of Hell, the artist’s major commission from the French government in 1880. The associations posed by the sculptural portals of that project led Rodin back to the art of Lorenzo Ghiberti and Michelangelo, particularly their depiction of biblical stories from the book of Genesis. A number of elements from the Gates—such as The Thinker, Adam, and Eve—gradually evolved into independent works. In particular, Eve recalls the most sculptural o...
About the Artist
Auguste Rodin · 1840–1917
François Auguste René Rodin (1840-1917) stands as the founder of modern sculpture, transforming the art form from academic tradition into expressive modernism. Born into a working-class Parisian family, Rodin faced early rejection, failing three times to gain admission to the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts. This setback forced him to work as a craftsman for nearly two decades, though his 1875 tr...