From the Hands of a Friend: Maillol's Standing Bather

This sculpture wasn't made by Rodin himself — it's the work of his friend, sculptor Aristide Maillol. The two artists admired and supported each other's work, and Rodin purchased this piece directly from Maillol.

It was made from an unusual material called babbitt metal, a cheap, extremely smooth alloy more commonly used in mechanical bearings than in sculpture. Maillol took this industrial material and used it to create a surface of remarkable smoothness and simple, pared-down form. That restrained style recalls the ancient Greek sculptures being excavated around the same period — and given Rodin's own deep fascination with Greek and Roman antiquity, it's said this piece held particular appeal for him.