Rodin_2011

3. Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (French, 1840–1917 ) in collaboration with Auguste Rodin

Innocence Tormented by Love (Innocence tourmentée par l’amour)

Conceived 1871 ; executed before 1910 Biscuit de Sèvres Height 25 ¼ inches (6 4 cm) Signed on the left side of the base: CARRIER-BELLEUSE

provenance Private collection, Brussels; Private Collection

literature Sander Pierron, “Francois Rude et Auguste Rodin à Bruxelles,” La Grande Revue , Paris, October 1 , 1902 , pp. 138 –6 2 ; Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin: Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin , pp. 109 – 10 ; Vers l’age d’airain: Rodin en Belgique , Musée Rodin, March 18 –June 15 , Paris, 1997 , pp. 109 – 10 ; Jérôme Le Blay, Catalogue critique de l’oeuvre sculpté d’Auguste Rodin (in preparation), Paris, no. 2005 - 11 6 5 B. From 1870 to the autumn of 1877 , Rodin lived in Brussels, where he worked as a praticien (stone carver) and collaborator in the studios of well-known sculptors. Until 1872 , Rodin’s main employer was Eugène Albert Carrier-Belleuse, whose decorative busts and figural groups, which recalled the 18 th century Rococco master Clodion, were highly sought after. Innocence Tormented by Love , signed by Carrier-Belleuse, is now considered an example of the established sculptor’s collaborative work with Rodin, an attribution that dates back to the Belgian writer Sander Pierron’s 1902 article on Rodin, cited above. The theme of this charming work, in which cupids encourage a young woman into sexual awakening, was a popular one in late 19 th century France. Carrier-Belleuse sold the work to Compagnie des Bronzes de Bruxelles, who produced an edition whose exact size is not yet known. The Compagnie produced examples in terracotta, marble, biscuit de Sèvres and bronze, in different sizes. The last of these examples probably dates from around 1910 . According to current expertise, the present work is very characteristic of the Compagnie’s efforts in biscuit de Sèvres, and dates before 1910 .