Rodin originally has made a small Head of Iris, a protrait of one of his models, which he then enlarged to more than twice its size in Monumental Head of Iris.
Born in Paris in 1840, Rodin became interested in art at an early age. Although he won several prizes for his work as a young student, he was rejected three times when he tried to enroll as a sculpture student at the School of Fine Arts at the age of seventeen. For the next several years he worked as a decorator and as an assistant to other sculptors. About 1880, when he was forty years old he began to gain recognition as a sculptor. He was the recipient of several awards and commissions; however, at the same time he found himself the center of numerous controversies regarding his work as well as his personal life, He died in 1917, five days after his 77th birthday.
Source: Bulletin, January-February, 1979.
Exhibition History"Rodin Rediscovered," National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., June 28, 1981 - May 2, 1982
"Auguste Rodin," Flint Institute of Arts, MI, Jan. 13 - Mar. 16, 1980
Published ReferencesDMAC Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1979, cover ill.
"Rodin Rediscovered," National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., 1981, exh. cat. no.354
William Tucker, THE LANGUAGE OF SCULPTURE, Thames & Hudson, London, 1974 (hard back), 1977 (paper back), ill. no.107, p.109 (another cast)
DES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. pp.183, 184 & 186
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