Division of Labor, Learned in a Workshop: The Venus Series

These pieces, known collectively as the Venus Series, were made by Rodin in clay in 1871. After failing three times to get into the École des Beaux-Arts, he needed work and ended up at the workshop run by sculptor Carrier-Belleuse, producing small sculptures like these to make a living.

That workshop specialized in mass-producing pieces on this smaller scale. It was there that Rodin learned a different way of working — not one sculptor making a figure start to finish, but several hands dividing up the parts between them. He also learned how to make a single original and then cast it into multiple copies. The techniques he picked up here, around division of labor and reproduction, would go on to shape his working methods for the rest of his career.

In that sense, the Venus Series marks a significant turning point in Rodin's development as a sculptor. Even then, his skill reportedly stood out enough that he was a valued worker at the shop.