Rodin - The Secret Museum

de Nadine Lehni, Catherine Chevillot

Hidden in a portfolio among Auguste Rodin?s inventory of more than 7,000 drawings donated to the state after his death in 1917 was a collection of figure drawings and watercolors labeled ?Secret Museum.? Scandalous at the time of their creation, and illustrated in a loose, gestural style, they depict 110 graphic nudes of women alone or with female partners displaying their most private selves. Available now for the first time, this body of work is displayed in its entirety with in-depth analysis of the role of eroticism in Rodin?s art, how the work was received during the artist?s lifetime and what we know about the models. Startling in their modernity, the artworks provide a valuable addition to the study of this influential artist and to the history of modern art as a whole.