A marble figure of a sorrowful woman, perched on a piano for years, just fetched €860,000 at a French auction. The buyer didn't know they were purchasing a lost masterpiece. They thought it was a cheap replica.
Auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac broke the family’s assumption last March. He brought the 11-inch statue to the Comité Rodin, the body that polices the sculptor’s legacy. Their six-week probe ended with a definitive verdict: this was the real thing. “We have rediscovered it,” Rouillac told AFP, calling the find “extremely rare.”
The piece dates to 1892, part of Rodin’s “Gates of Hell” series. It’s a depiction of pure anguish. The sculpture vanished from public records after a 1906 sale, sliding into obscurity while Rodin created other versions. The family kept it, unaware of its pedigree, until Rouillac’s team dug through the provenance.
The Musée Rodin notes that “Despair” was well-received, prompting Rodin to model it multiple times. This specific marble cast is now verified. The family, presumably delighted, pocketed the proceeds from a piece they had long dismissed as decorative filler.
The sale closes the chapter on this specific artifact, but the academic interest in the “Gates of Hell” series remains high. Collectors will now scrutinize other Rodin works in private collections, knowing how easily originals can hide in plain sight.