Three Sculptures Merged into One: Two Eves and a Crouching Woman

By the 1890s, Rodin had begun combining sculptures he'd made for The Gates of Hell into entirely new works. This was possible because he kept the molds of his sculptures. While some sculptors deliberately destroyed their molds to prevent copies from being made, Rodin preserved his, which let him freely combine different pieces. Two Eves and a Crouching Woman is one such work.

The sculpture brings together three separate pieces. The two figures in front are two Eve sculptures Rodin originally made to flank The Gates of Hell. The figure perched atop the Eve sculpture behind them is a separate work titled Crouching Woman.

To the left stands a tree, representing the Tree of Knowledge. After eating its forbidden fruit, Eve became aware of her own nakedness and felt shame for the first time — a feeling that's clearly written into Eve's posture here. The crouching woman above her reflects the same idea: a figure who, having tasted the forbidden fruit, becomes conscious of her nakedness and curls inward.