Major Works

In 1864, he met a seamstress by the name of Rose Beuret who became his long life companion and also served as model for many of his works. He submitted a sculpture that was named “A Man with a Broken Nose” to the Paris Salon but was rejected and then re-accepted under a new title as “Portrait of a Roman.” He Went to Italy in 1875 where he saw and marveled at the works of Michelangelo that left a strong impression on the artist. This had him submit another work to he Paris Salon “The Age of Bronze”, which caused quite a stir when the critics couldn’t believe that he made the work of art without the use of a live casting of a subject. They couldn’t believe that such work was possible without such a method and that he could do such exceptional a work only with his hands and tools.

The said controversy made his name well known to the sculpting society and resulted in his getting a commission to make the bronze door for the future Museum of Decorative Arts that he failed to finish till his death. The door was to become the basis for much of the artist’s works from then on till his death on the 17th of November 1917 and was buried in Meudon. Before his death, he managed to donate the entire collection of his works to the French government that occupy the Hotel Biron in Paris. The works and sculptures still stand where the master sculptor placed them to this day, at age 76 a short time before he died.

The controversy that was stirred with his “Age of Bronze” exhibit allowed him to gain favor of Turquet, who was the undersecretary of fine arts. Resulting in two of his works, “The Age of Bronze” and “St, John” being purchased for the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. After the said purchase, the French Government gave him a studio in Paris where he continued to work till his death. The huge bronze doors he failed to finish, took inspiration from Dante’s Inferno and was named by him as the Gate of Hell. He produced a total of 186 figures that he intended to place in the said museum that included, “Adam and Eve” from 1881 that is now in the Metropolitan Museum, “The Thinker” from 1879 to about 1900, and “La Belle Heaulmiere” both being in Paris. These works along with “The Burghers of Calais” are his most recognized sculptures.