Rodin's Models

My recent post on Gaudenzio Marconi opened another door I hadn't fully appreciated before: how often photographers, painters, sculptors, and their models crossed paths. The history of the male figure isn't divided neatly into separate disciplines. The same people often appear again and again, just in different forms.

1. Jean Baud (1853-?) posed for Auguste Rodin in the early 1900s - including his iconic sculpture Le Penseur, The Thinker.

2. Jean Baud upper body and face was a French prizefighter and wrestler during the turn of the 20th century.

3. The Thinker - 1904 - Rodin (based on model Jean Baud).

This set begins with Jean Baud, whose body inspired The Thinker. It continues with Auguste Neyt, photographed by Marconi as the model for Rodin's The Age of Bronze (who I featured in yesterday's post), and ends with Athlete model, Samual Stockton White III and Antoine Bourdelle, who not only modeled for Rodin but later worked in his studio before becoming an accomplished sculptor himself. The more I dig, the more these creative worlds seem interconnected.

4. Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) by George Charles Beresford.

5. Auguste Neyt (1855-?) modeled for Rodin's Age of Bronze in 1877 - photo by Gaudenzio Marconi.

6. Rodin's Age of Bronze from behind cropped (based on Marconi's photos of model, Neyt).

7. Rodin's Age of Bronze side view cropped.

8. Samual Stockton White III (1876-1952)  posed for Rodin's Athlete - 1901-1904. Hopefully you can read the caption clearly.  Stockton White III was discovered by bodybuilder, Eugen Sandow, and won one of his strongman competitions and was introduced to Rodin by Sandow.

9. Rodin's Athlete - 1901-1904 - based on his model S.S. White III.

10. Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929) modeled for Rodin and worked in his studio before becoming a sculptor himself.

11. Antoine Bourdelle's Adam - 1889. Bourdelle was also a celebrated painter and credited as a teacher for Henri Matisse.

Please leave thoughts, questions or corrections in the comments. Thank you. bns