Dolly Connor 
Rodin’s Drawings 

Sketcher, painter, engraver, sculptor and collector, Auguste Rodin is recognized worldwide for the exceptional authenticity of his anatomical sculptures. He strongly influenced twentieth century sculpture by his assemblage techniques and prepared the way for symbolism by adopting literary and mythological themes. Drawing was his means of discovering ‘truth’ in life and in art: ‘good’ drawing represented truth and simplicity in nature; ‘bad’ drawing was self-conscious, mannered in its representation, and often displayed an ignorance of nature or inexact observation with attempts to mask it with artifice. Rodin was a prolific draughtsman, producing some 10, 000 drawings. Although the works on paper can only be shown periodically, owing to their fragility, the role they played in Rodin’s art was by no means minor. As the sculptor said at the end of his life: “It’s very simple. My drawings are the key to my work.”