Eve, Musée Rodin, Paris Rodin, Paris

Auguste Rodin’s primary subject and source of inspiration was the human body, from simple studies to penetrating portraits to depictions of human passion and suffering–continually shocking the public with his sensual subject matter and frequent fragmentation and abstraction of the human form. With a vigorous modeling technique that was subjective and impressionistic, he captured movement and expressed emotion by altering traditional poses and gestures to create intense, highly personal figures–all celebrating the vitality of the human spirit.

“Eve” is a prime example of this. Inspired by Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel fresco, Rodin’s model was actually pregnant during the sessions to sculpt mother of humanity. Attached is an article about the sculpture from the New York Times of 1899.