Hélène von Nostitz

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

Helene von Hindenburg, who married Alfred von Nostitz-Wallwitz in 1904, was introduced to Rodin by Count Harry Kessler, a German diplomat and man of letters. She had just seen the exhibition in the Pavillon de l'Alma (1900) and was fascinated by the sculptor's art.

The young woman first posed for Auguste Rodin when he stayed with her and her mother at their villa in Ardenza, in Tuscany. Forgetting the urbane character of the portraits he had done the previous decade, the artist focused on the sitter's sweet, delicate expression, and produced a small bust that captured "my first impression of you" (Rodin to Helene von Nostitz, 1908). 

Granddaughter of the German ambassador to Paris, she was a woman of the world and, above all, Rodin's kindred spirit, with whom he talked about art and music, as can be seen from their voluminous correspondence. 

The bust was cast in silver for Helene von Nostitz in 1907. Three other casts were made in glass paste, as well as a series of small plasters with slight variations: no less than thirteen busts with softened contours, covered with a veil of plaster slip or highlighted in pencil, were cast but never exhibited while Auguste Rodin was alive.

Each reproduction requires great expertise   and draws on the skills of the Rodin Museum's teams and craftsmen. It is from the official moulds from the museum's collections that the most accurate resin reproductions are made. They are then hand-patinated to give it the appearance of bronze, plaster or marble.

Finally, they are validated and checked by the Musée Rodin’s curators to ensure that they comply with moral rights.

Reproductions come with an explanatory note about the history of the work.

The seal and the mention “Reproduction - Musée Rodin” guarantee the quality and origin of the sculpture reproduction.