Nothing Went to Waste: Flowers in a Vase

Flowers in a Vase is a sculpture Rodin made by reusing and combining parts from earlier works. When sculpting a figure, Rodin rarely made it as a single whole — instead, he preferred to make the hands, feet, arms, and head separately and assemble them afterward. Naturally, this left behind a surplus of spare parts that didn't end up being used.

Rather than discard them, though, Rodin fused these leftover pieces with other sculptures he'd made, like bowls or vases, turning them into entirely new works. The piece in front of you came about this very way. This method of working gave Rodin considerable room to expand his understanding of form itself.