Skip to main content

Rodin Museum

Apotheosis of Victor Hugo

Modeled 1890-1891; cast 1926
Artist/maker: Auguste Rodin, French, 1840 - 1917. Cast by the founder Alexis Rudier, Paris, 1874 - 1952

In 1889 Rodin received a commission to produce a monument honoring the writer Victor Hugo (French, 1802–1885) for Paris’s Panthéon, a mausoleum for distinguished citizens of France. This bronze represents the artist’s second attempt. He portrays the standing poet crowned by a muse while allegorical figures encircle the tall pillar-like pedestal.



The French government eventually abandoned the project, but the assignment led Rodin to another work, the colossal Monument to Victor Hugo. You can see a version of the latter in the Perelman Building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

...

Object Details

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit.


Rodin Museum