Accession Number2012/1.216
TitleBalzac, The Silhouette, 4 a.m.
Artist(s)Edward SteichenArtist NationalityAmerican (North American)Object Creation Date1908Medium & Supportphotogravure on paperDimensions 8 1/4 in x 11 3/4 in (20.96 cm x 29.85 cm)
Credit LineGift of Maxine and Lawrence K. SniderSubject matterEdward Steichen's photographs of Balzac's sculpture transform a static figure into a ghostly silhouette emerging from a hazy landscape. The images are evocative and brooding. Rodin had been commissioned for his statue of Balzac by the Société des Gens de Lettres in 1891; however, in 1898, the group refused it. Ten years later Rodin invited Steichen to photograph the sculpture in hopes of realizing his vision for the sculpture. After Steichen noted that the plaster statue appeared harsh and chalky in the daylight, Rodin moved the sculpture out of the studio and into the open air set on a rotating platform in the garden. Steichen spent two nights, from sunset to sunrise photographing by the light of the moon. He moved around the sculpture to find the best angle and moved his camera according to the trajectory of the moon. Exposures lasted up to an hour each. Rodin responded to the photographs, “You will make the world understand my
Balzac through these pictures. They are like Christ walking in the desert.” The photographs were exhibited in the Photo-Secession Gallery in 1909, Steichen’s last show with Stieglitz, and then three were published in
Camera Work in 1911. In 1939, the statue was cast in bronze and placed in the streets of Paris.
Physical DescriptionThis photogravure is one of a series of photographs by Edward Steichen commissioned by Auguste Rodin of his statue of the French writer Honoré de Balzac. Created at 4:00 a.m., a cloaked and silhouetted figure stands in a misty landscape.
Primary Object ClassificationPhotographCollection AreaPhotographyRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
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Keywords
figures (representations)
landscapes (representations)
men (male humans)
night
silhouettes
sky
statues