Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
The Death of Adonis
(18th and 19th Centuries )
According to Greek mythology, the goddess Aphrodite fell passionately in love with the beautiful youth Adonis. When he was killed in a hunting accident, Aphrodite's grief was so overwhelming that the gods allowed Adonis to come back to earth for six months each year and then return to Hades. Rodin, wishing to make his work easily available, relied on studio assistants to create bronze or marble sculptures from his clay models. A plaster cast of this piece, dating from before 1888, was included in an exhibition held by Rodin in Paris in 1900.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
| 2015-2017 | Metamorphosis: The Studio of Rodin. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montréal; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; Peabody Essex Museum, Salem; Groninger Museum, Groningen. |
| 1998 | Before Monet: Landscape Painting in France and Impressionist Masters: Highlights from The Walters Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 6/26/1972 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 8/1/1984 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 8/18/1984 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 11/24/1987 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated |
| 1/31/1992 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation |
| 1/12/2015 | Treatment | cleaned; examined for loan |
| 1/12/2015 | Treatment | The sculpture was cleaned prior to loan. The sculpture has no losses or major damage. The surface was soiled and grimy. |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 14 × W: 16 1/2 × L: 26 3/8 in. (35.56 × 41.91 × 66.99 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
27.491