It's a real investigation that the Musée Rodin is staging, in the exhibition "In⸱visible Bodies: An Investigation into Balzac's Dressing Gown," on display until March 2. When, in 1891, the Society of People of Letters of France asked Auguste Rodin to create a monument to the glory of its co-founder Honoré de Balzac, the writer had been dead for almost half a century. How best to restore his silhouette? It's this quest that this exhibition explores. Seeking to research his work as accurately as possible, the sculptor gathered literary texts describing the author and testimonials from those who knew him, as well as a wealth of iconography – engravings, sculptures, casts, etc. – depicting Balzac.
Rodin also immersed himself in the tailors' registers of the time to find the measurements of the portly man who measured 1.68 meters. On display are various reconstructed items of the writer's clothing, including a tailor's jacket and trouser suspenders, as well as various plaster casts of Balzac made by Rodin, showing the progression of his work. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a small plaster robe designed to conceal Balzac's body – considered deformed by his contemporaries. Completed in 1898, the imposing statue of the writer was rejected by the commissioners, who considered the representation of the man of letters too unsightly. There are several bronzes of this work, one of which can be seen in the gardens of the Musée Rodin, to prolong the visit.
"In⸱visible Bodies: An Investigation into Balzac's Dressing Gown," until March 2, Musée Rodin.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.