Mouvements de danse

(1910-1911)

As Rodin grew older, his work became increasingly sketch-like and abstract. Dance was an important source of inspiration to him. He tried to capture the essence of the movements and was not at all interested in anatomical detail. In contrast to Degas, Rodin did not like classical ballet. He preferred the spontaneous, natural movements of what were, at the time, modern forms of dance. When the famous dancer Isadora Duncan opened a school for modern dance near his studio, Rodin made the most of the opportunity by sketching the movements of the school’s pupils for days on end. The series, Mouvements de danse was probably based on Alda Moreno, a dancer for the Opéra Comique.