Monument to Balzac

Auguste Rodin received the commission for a monument to novelist Honoré de Balzac in 1891 from the Société des Gens de Lettres. Émile Zola championed Rodin for the project. After years of study, Rodin presented his plaster model at the 1898 Salon. The unconventional portrait showed Balzac wrapped in his famous dressing gown, a massive figure rising like a monolith rather than a traditional commemorative statue.

Critics savaged the work, comparing it to a toad in a sack, a snowman, and a block of salt. The commissioners rejected it as a crude sketch that failed to capture Balzac's likeness. Wounded by this rejection, Rodin withdrew the monument and kept it at his home in Meudon for the rest of his life. Supporters including Monet and Cézanne defended his vision. The 282-centimeter bronze was finally cast and installed on Boulevard du Montparnasse in 1939, 22 years after Rodin's death. Today it is considered one of the first truly modern sculptures. A cast is displayed at the Musée Rodin.