The Walking Man
Transcript
Here's what your guide tells you about this work in the MuseCat app.
The sculpture you're looking at is The Walking Man by Rodin. There's an interesting story behind this work. One day, Rodin came across a clay model of a torso that he had originally created for his sculpture of Saint John the Baptist.
When Rodin rediscovered it, he decided to give it a new life instead of letting it go to waste. He paired it with a separate set of legs that he had also made for Saint John the Baptist. But rather than simply joining the two pieces together, he rotated the torso slightly before attaching it. The result is the sculpture you're looking at now.
Although the torso and the legs had been created about 10 years apart, Rodin combined them to create an entirely new work. And to emphasize the sense of movement suggested by the title, The Walking Man, he deliberately left out the arms.
Take your time enjoying the sculpture.
