Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau is a plaster sculpture made in 1895 by Auguste Rodin for the writer Octave Mirbeau. It is now in the Soumaya Museum in Mexico. Mirbeau came to know Rodin through The Age of Bronze and The Gates of Hell. He later visited Rodin’s studio, published the first description of The Gates of Hell in the magazine La France, and promoted Rodin’s other works. Rodin expressed his gratitude for Mirbeau’s support more than once, writing to him: “You have done everything in my life and you have succeeded.”
May 2012 © Lomita · CC BY-SA 3.0
July 2012 © Roland Godefroy · CC BY-SA 3.0
June 2016 © Museo Soumaya · Public domain
Identification | |
| Title | Octave Mirbeau |
| Type | plaster relief |
Historical context | |
| Date | 1895 |
| Relationship to subject | Rodin made the work as a tribute to Octave Mirbeau, whom he knew through The Age of Bronze and The Gates of Hell |
| Mirbeau's role | He frequently visited Rodin's studio, published the first description of The Gates of Hell in La France, and promoted Rodin's other work |
| Rodin's attitude toward Mirbeau | Rodin repeatedly expressed gratitude to Mirbeau for his role as a promoter of his work |
| Mirbeau's death date | 16 February 1917 |
| Chronological note | Mirbeau died a few months before Rodin |
Creator | |
| Artist | Auguste Rodin |
| Place of creation | France |
Physical characteristics | |
| Material | plaster |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Subject | profile portrait of the writer Octave Mirbeau |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Current location | Museo Soumaya, Fundación Carlos Slim, Mexico City, Mexico |
Significance | |
| Historical significance | Mirbeau was an important promoter of Rodin's work |
Other | |
| Quoted remark by Rodin | "You have done everything in my life and you have succeeded." |
| Interpretive note from Mirbeau's description | Mirbeau praised Rodin's treatment and representation of the human figure, whose tense muscles obey passion and the impulses of the soul |