Seminal and highly lauded French sculptor (1840–1917) whose works, including the iconic The Kiss and The Thinker, earned him a place among the most influential artistic figures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ALS in French, signed “Friendship, A. Rodin,” two pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.5 x 7, no date. Letter to Mr. Marco del Pont. In full (translated): “When I received your letter I have tried to quickly put few attributes and my figure plus the one on top representing the whole monument but I was convinced that I still had to have 8 days to give Mr. Carré the ambassador an idea of the whole thing. Would you please let it be known and have me excused for Saturday and postpone your visit to 8 days?” In very good condition, with tape repairs to separations along central horizontal fold on both pages, small chip to top of second page, and partial separation along spine.
When Rodin was approached by Argentine businessman Marco del Pont on behalf of The Buenos Ayres Committee in 1894 with a proposal for a monument to the late Argentine President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, he was understandably hesitant to accept. Having created three commissioned monuments in his recent past and received incredibly harsh public criticism for them (most notably an 1891 sculpture of Honore de Balzac, which was so strongly hated that he returned his pay and kept the sculpture in his own garden), the idea of creating another was unappealing to say the least. After a year of correspondence, however, the artist was convinced and began work in 1895. The massive monument—a two meter tall bronze figure of the president atop a five meter marble pedestal—was unveiled in May of 1900, and again Rodin received general disapproval from the Committee and the public. Despite the negative response, his fame was growing in the art world, enabling him to leave the business of public commissions behind and carry out his work under fewer constraints. An excellent letter from a turning point in the legendary sculptor’s career. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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