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Auguste Rodin artwork The Three Shades, The Age of Bronze, Head of Pierre de Wissant, Young Girl with Roses on Her Hat, St John the Baptist Preaching | ||
The Alsatian Orphan / L'Orphaline Alsacienne is a sculpture made by the French artist Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). In the beginning of his career, Rodin made decorative pieces and works of art. This piece was created during this phase.
This bust represents a girl with her head slightly bent to the side, her childish face expresses a soft melancholy. Her veil is characteristic of the province of Alsace, northern France which was lost during the Franco-Prusian war in 1870. It was described like "Lexemplaire" with her veil of silk arranged like a butterfly extending its wings. The sculpture is considered one of the first big successes of Rodin, it was exhibited in several occasions between 1871 and 1884 and in several formats, including marble and terracota.
Work
There are several versions of this work of Rodin, two of them in exhibition at Soumaya Museum in Mexico City. One is Huerfana Alsaciana, L'Orpheline Alsacienne in white Marble with dimensions of 39.1 x 22.7 x 19.4 cm. And Huerfana Alsaciana version con la cabeza derecha, L'Orpheline Alsacienne, version avec tête droit, made between 1877 and 1878 in terracotta and whose dimensions are 36.2 x 22.3 x 17.7 cm.