THE ARKIN İSKELE
ART GALLERY

This is a first-edition monograph on Auguste Rodin written by Leon Maillard (1899), capturing a contemporary view of Rodin while he was still producing major works. The book includes high-quality images and descriptions of Rodin’s sculpture with several original prints such as a dry point by Rodin, "Antonin Proust” present in two states both on Japan paper. The book also demonstrates early sketches of iconic works, such as the “L’Homme des Premier Ages”, also known as The Awakening Man, or The Vanquished One, and later known as The Age of Bronze. Here, the original model holds a spear in the left hand, as is shown in a photograph by Gaudenzio Marconi. Rodin famously decided to remove the weapon so as to free the arm of any attribute and infuse the gesture with a new liberality. This gesture created confusion around the represented figure and the depicted subject, raising attention to the its emotive effect.

As the earliest comprehensive study focusing exclusively on Rodin’s work published during his lifetime, the book establishes him as a subject of serious art historical and critical inquiry. With anecdotes, quotations, and reactions from contemporaries, the narrative frames Rodin as a “modern Michelangelo”, contributing to the revolutionary image of the artist. While the book has played a significant role in shaping the public and critical perception of Rodin at the peak of his career, today, it continues to serve as a primary visual and textual record of Rodin’s early reception and the evolution of his work in the modern era.