The Cathedral (work of art)

Artist: Auguste Rodin
Artist Details: French; 1840-1917
Medium: Bronze
Created: Modeled 1908, Musée Rodin cast 1955
Dimensions: 25 1/4 x 12 3/4 xx 13 1/2 in.; (64.1 x 32.4 x 34.3 cm)

About

It is a measure of Rodin’s genius that he could take a motif as mundane as two hands and create such an evocative sculpture. It brings to mind the vault of a Gothic cathedral — hence the title. The fingers lightly touch, as if in prayer. Given the intimacy of this gesture, it comes as a surprise when we notice Rodin has used two identical right hands, “forever caught,” as one critic wrote, “in marveling reciprocal self-contemplation.”

tags: movement, variation