The Garden of Torments Pl.10
1902
Imagine reading a scandalous 1899 novel about torture and exotic gardens, only to find illustrations that look like dreamy, floating figures. Auguste Rodin created these drawings for Octave Mirbeau's 'The Torture Garden,' capturing the book's intense mix of eroticism and social critique. The figure here stretches upward with arms raised, rendered in such loose, fluid lines and a soft wash of color that the body appears almost weightless. This delicate work reveals a surprisingly spontaneous side of the artist, far removed from the heavy, muscular bronze sculptures like 'The Thinker' that made him famous.
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