This drawing was sold on the internet recently for $2,100.00. A price of just over two thousand dollars would be ridiculous for a Rodin drawing of a Cambodian dancer,if one ever came to market. If it is a Rodin the new owner got a bargain. If not they may have acquired a curiosity-one of the many,many forgeries of Rodin in circulation.Here are some questions which the buyer could have asked before purchase.
Why is this drawing not in the Musée Rodin? You may say that not all drawings by Rodin are in the Musée Rodin.This is quite true, but most of them are and that is the way Rodin wanted it. Did Rodin not give drawings to friends and patrons you may object? Quite true, he did, and they often have inscriptions commemorating the event. He did not give drawings away to every Tom, Dick and Harriet. If Rodin gave you a drawing, be sure he thought about it and weighed the recipient's status accordingly.Adding an inscription to a forged item would be a risky business because Rodin's life is very well documented and his friends and patrons are well known. This would require thorough background knowledge of the Rodin circle so a forger would not wish for added complications such as this. Is there an inscription-other than a signature on this drawing? Not that I can tell.
We would expect it to be in Paris because Rodin viewed his drawings as a resource to be tended lovingly. His experience with the Cambodian dancers was such that it is almost impossible to think that he would let a drawing from this group escape. It would have been too great a sacrifice.
But here again there can be exceptions.There are at least four cambodians not in the Musee Rodin-but all seem to have good pedigrees.
Why, if it is by Rodin, is this drawing exceptional in format among the Cambodian dancers? It is much larger than the dancers illustrated in the survey of drawings mentioned at the end of this post and it is considerably larger than the great majority of Rodin's drawings in general.This would give me cause for concern.The size is given as 17X 23 inches. Varnedoe mentions drawings by Durig in Rodin's manner on paper of approximately this size.Some are of Cambodian dancers.
As to the quality of the work itself I would say that it is poor. Rodin often makes the arms of his dancers long and snake like-to convey the expressive quality of their movement.But here they are somewhat wooden and lumpish. The neck is too long.There is no impression that there is a lower body under the skirt. The lower legs appear like those of china dolls where the torso is just cloth and stuffing. In general the drawing is too timid and careful thus failing to mimic Rodin's creative fervour.In one way this drawing is too careful. Rodin's drawings are spontaneous and quick. They are often messy and clumsy-but in an extremely spontaneous way. This one is messy,clumsy and deliberate.Rodin made drawings for his own ends. This one is different.
Is the drawing accepted as genuine by the Musée Rodin?
It is normal for auction houses to advise that a work by, Klee, Nolde or Rodin for example is accepted as genuine by major experts on the artists in question. This happened on April 11 this year when Christies sold an important group of Rodin drawings in Paris. Here it was advised that the drawings were accepted as genuine by the Musée Rodin's experts.It could also be shown that the works can be traced through collections back to Rodin's day. As a result the drawings made good prices-way above estimates.
Here is another work,of similar size and quality- possibly by the same hand as drawing A. Perhaps also,intrinsically of better quality.
You can see many illustrations of works by imitators of Rodin's drawings at the Fogg website here.
If you want to read more about forgeries of Rodin drawings then please consult the essay by Kirk Varnedoe in Albert Elsen & J Kirk T Varnedoe: The Drawings of Rodin, London,1972. But bear in mind that this should be read in conjunction with Varnedoe's text in the exhibition catalogue Rodin Rediscovered of 1981 where Varnedoe revises some opinions.
For a good selection of Rodin drawings-from the Musée Rodin, then consult; August Rodin: Drawings and Watercolours; by Antoinette Lenormand-Romain and Christina Bulley-Uribe, London 2006.You may also be interested in my posts on forgery of Gauguin and Samuel Palmer.
UPDATE JULY 2013. Regarding expertise and authentication. This can lead to very complex situations-see for rxample this article about Andy Warhol authentication here.
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