The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Comité Auguste Rodin, certificate available Catalogue no. 2009-2783B (Jerome Le Blay) Other casts are held in The Musee Rodin, Paris; The Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, and Museo Soumaya, Mexico. Masque de femme coiffée à las mode de 1880 or translated Mask of a woman with a 1880 hairstyle was created by Rodin during a period of his life when he was facing adversity and could not afford professional sitters. Rodin would instead use friends or family members, so although the identity of this model is unknown it could be presumed that she had a personal relationship with the sculptor. It’s been said that the ‘work has often been confused with the portrait of Marie Bengesco, Rodin's Romanian friend, whose features were more austere and whose neck was longer.’ There is also speculation that this woman is Camille Claudel, one of Rodin’s studio assistants. The sculpture is unusual because of the line which traces around the face giving it a mask-like appearance however the hair is perhaps the most prominent feature of this bust, cascading down her face. The model’s hair is very typical of the 1880’s where the style has moved from long curled hair which framed the face in the 1860’s and 70s to a more formal hairstyle, which was still meticulously curled however was pinned on top of the head rather than being left loose to frame the face.

Provenance Judith Claudel (Rodin's friend and biographer) Universe de Bronze, France 2010 Private Collection, UK

Literature Goldscheider, Auguste Rodin, 1989, no 117