Auguste RodinFrench, 1840–1917La Duchesse de Choiseul
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “La Duchesse de Choiseul” now? Victoria and Albert Museum, Sculpture, Room 21, The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries, London. Yes, on view now. Checked October 12, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
RoomSculpture, Room 21, The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries
Open now· until 5:45 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Claire Coudert (1864-1919) was the eldest daughter of a well-known New York lawyer, Charles Coudert. The family was originally French but moved to America in 1824. She married the Marquis (later Duc) de Choiseul in 1891 and moved to France. She enjoyed a close friendship with Rodin from about 1904 until he ended their relationship in 1912. Before then, she had dominated many aspects of his life, cutting him off from his friends and relations and taking control of his business dealings, especially with the U.S.A. She was responsible for introducing Rodin to the American millionaire Thomas Ryan, who was instrumental in introducing his work to the USA. (See Museum no. A.48-1914). In effect, the Duchess became Rodin's agent, conducting negotiations with potential buyers.
Read on
Both this portrait and its companion (Museum no. A.45-1914) are close studies of an intimate friend. They were not commissioned and have a great informalilty and vitality. Rodin was able to observe and draw the Duchess in a very natural way, capturing her lively personality. In this earlier version she is pensive, with her head to one side, unlike the later version where she smiles. In both versions, hair springs up unusually from her forehead; Marcelle Tirel, employed by Rodin at the time, reported that Rodin noticed she wore false hair. These are amongst the most intimate and informal of all Rodin's portraits.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- A.46-1914
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
In the life of Auguste Rodin
The whole life1890s–1900s
Young sculptors in Rodin's studio
His income let him hire gifted young sculptors, among them Antoine Bourdelle, Charles Despiau, Jules Desbois, François Pompon and Aristide Maillol. Constantin Brancusi left after two months, convinced that nothing grows under a big tree.
1900s
Portraits of the famous and the rich
Rodin began to receive regular commissions for portraits; his clients included Bernard Shaw, Gustav Mahler, Georges Clemenceau, the Argentine president Sarmiento, the chemist Berthelot and the philanthropist Bertha Palmer. Clemenceau was displeased: he thought the portrait looked like a “Mongol general”.
1905–1906
Rilke as Rodin's secretary
In 1905–1906 the sculptor's private secretary was the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who later wrote an admiring monograph on Rodin.
1906 · Award
honorary doctorate of the University of Glasgow
1907 · Award
Honorary doctor of the University of Oxford
1908
Moves into the Hôtel Biron
Rilke invited Rodin to the eighteenth-century mansion where he rented rooms; Rodin liked it so much that he took the ground floor, moved his studio there and lived there for his last years.
