by-nc

Étude de femme nue (Study of a Recumbent Female Nude)

Maker

Forgery in the manner of
(Artists)
1840-1917

Title

Étude de femme nue (Study of a Recumbent Female Nude)

Date of Production

1917-1920

Medium

graphite and watercolour on wove paper

Dimensions

Height: 27.5 cm
Width: 36.3 cm

Accession Number

D.1935.SC.148

Mode of Acquisition

Samuel Courtauld, gift, 1935

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords




Label Text

Rodin’s drawings have been attractive to forgers due to their high value, market appeal and the relative ease of imitating his sketchy lines. These forgeries, however, lack Rodin’s refined simplicity and sense of anatomy. In this drawing, the outlines of the lumpy female nude are heavy-handed, as is the false signature, which shows an uncharacteristically even pressure applied throughout. The loop of the ‘d’ also does not match Rodin’s genuine signature. These features identify this drawing as the work of the forger known as ‘Hand B’.

Provenance

St George's Gallery (London); purchased there by Samuel Courtauld, London (1876-1947),1924; Samuel Courtauld Gift 1935

Exhibition History

Drawings Gallery Display - Reading Drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 21/01/2017-04/06/2017

Mantegna to Cezanne - Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 24/02/1983-19/06/1983

Drawings and engravings from the Courtauld Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1966 ...More

Rodin, an exhibition of sculpture with some drawings and prints, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 7 other cities, 1966-1967

Drawings and Engravings from the Courtauld Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, December 1959-April 1960

Impressionistes de la Collection Courtauld de Londres, Orangerie, Paris, 1955

Samuel Courtauld memorial exhibition, Tate Gallery, London, 1948

long-term loan, City Art Gallery, Wakefield, 1946-1947 ...Less

Literature

John House, Impressionism for England: Samuel Courtauld as Patron and Collector, Courtauld Institute Galleries 1994
no. 108
illus. p. 217

Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
cat. no. 110
illus. p. 111

Drawings and engravings from the Courtauld Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, December 1959-April 1960, 1974 (rev. ed.)
no. 43 ...More

The drawings of Rodin, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1971-1972 New York 1971
p. 176
illus. no. 139 on p. 174

Rodin, an exhibition of sculpture with some drawings and prints, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 7 other cities, 1966-67
cat. no. 46

Drawings and engravings from the Courtauld Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1966
cat. no. 35
illus. pl. VII

Drawings and engravings from the Courtauld Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, Dec. 1959 - Apr. 1960, 1959-1960
cat. no. 35
illus. pl. 7

Impressionistes de la Collection Courtauld de Londres, Orangerie, Paris, 1955
cat. no. 88
illus. pl. 81

Cooper, Douglas, The Courtauld Collection, London 1954
no. 148
illus. pl. 69 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower right, graphite, underlined, forged signature by 'Hand B': "A Rodin"; lower left corner, graphite, former acc. no.: “9.35”. Verso: written twice, at lower left and right (underlined on the right), graphite: “XI / MM.C.C”.

Collector's mark: none.

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