Auguste RodinFrench, 1840–1917La France
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “La France” now? National Gallery of Art, Gallery 3 · West Building, Ground Floor, Washington, D.C. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Closed· opens tomorrow at 10:00 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1942.5.9
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art
- Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access
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”.
1903
Succeeds Whistler as head of the International Society
After the death of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Rodin was elected president of the International Society of Painters, Sculptors and Engravers, largely thanks to Albert Ludovici.
20 May 1903 · Award
Commander of the Legion of Honour
1905 · Award
honorary doctor of the University of Jena
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.
