''Ovid's Metamorphoses'' or ''The Satyrs'' is a sculpture by
Auguste Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
, created as part of ''
The Gates of Hell''.
Inspiration
It draws on the tale of
Salmacis and
Hermaphroditus
In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos (; grc, Ἑρμαφρόδιτος, Hermaphróditos, ) was a child of Aphrodite and Hermes. According to Ovid, he was born a remarkably handsome boy whom the naiad Salmacis attempted to rape an ...
in Book IV, lines 285-388 of Ovid's ''
Metamorphoses''. One edition of the bronze cast of it is now in the
Museo Soumaya in
Mexico City.
Another edition of this bronze cast is on display at the Yamasaki Majak Museum of Art in Nagoya, Japan.
His models were two ballerinas at the
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...
, recommended to him in the mid-1880s by
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...
. They also served as models for his ''Psyche'', ''Daphne and Cupid'' and ''Cursed Women''.
[Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette (2006). ''Rodin The Gates of Hell.'' p. 42,43. .]
See also
*
List of sculptures by Auguste Rodin
References
External links
*
{{Auguste Rodin
1889 sculptures
Sculptures in the Museo Soumaya
Sculptures by Auguste Rodin
Bronze sculptures in Mexico
Sculptures based on Metamorphoses