The Fall of the Angels
c. 1890–1900
Medium
marble
Dimensions
53.5 × 69.9 × 40.6 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Carrie Moss Halle in memory of Salmon Portland Halle
Accession Number
1960.85
Tags
About this artwork
The entwined couple in this sculpture recalls the figures on Rodin’s monumental doorway The Gates of Hell. Struck by Dante Alighieri’s descriptions of the damned suffering in hell because of their sins of the flesh, Rodin populated his portal with embracing lovers symbolic of carnal desire and sensual pleasure. Here, a winged figure alludes to the biblical account of the angels who were cast out of Heaven after siding with Satan (Revelation 12:4). Rodin preferred marble for erotic subjects. The ...