ArtBohemia

Link: http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/36003/fake-rodin-controversy-descends-on-french-museum/

PARIS— Paris’s Rodin Museum recently seized three statues that it said had been illegally identified as original works by the French sculptor. The pieces are featured in the show "Monumental Sculptures of 20th-Century Masters" in the town of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges in France’s Lorraine region. The exhibition features 86 works by 18 artists, including such other heavy-hitters as Georges Braque and Salvador Dalí.

The hullabaloo is over three works that the Rodin Museum claims do not bear the required mark designating them as copies, a fact that was confirmed by three bailiffs sent to the exhibition by the museum. A bailiff summoned by the town of Saint-Dié, however, declared that all seven Rodin works are clearly presented as copies, both in the catalogue and by stamps on the works themselves.

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The order to seize the works was issued by a French court, but under French law, the order of seizure means that the sculptures cannot be moved, and thus they are still on display at the exhibition. When contacted by ARTINFO France, the Rodin Museum refused to comment on the affair.

The exhibition organizers, on the other hand, vigorously denied that they are trying to pass fake works off as real ones. The exhibition curator’s representative, Alice Repellin, told ARTINFO France that "when you look at the prices, an original small 'Thinker' by Rodin is worth €9 million ($12.3 million), while ours cost €150,000 ($205,600). We’re not passing them off as originals."

Mayor Christian Pierret said at a press conference that "the suspicion of forgery is slanderous and is an attempt to destroy the exhibition’s success." In an act of resistance on the part of the Saint-Dié institution, the exhibition — which has already attracted over 8,000 visitors — has now been extended through October 25, and the exhibition organizers will contest the accusations in court.

One of the three controversial works presents an especially thorny case. The exhibition’s "Adam" is missing his left arm, while the Rodin Museum’s "Adam" has both arms intact. As reported by Agence France-Presse, an attorney for the Rodin Museum maintains that the curator should not have stated that the bronze sculptures were created from original Rodin molds because the one-armed "Adam" on display comes from an incomplete plaster cast.

Exhibition organizers countered that the "Adam" is part of a trio of bronze statues inspired by Rodin’s "Three Shades”" (an edition of which is currently on display in Sotheby's "Divine Comedy" show) and that the sculptor himself cut the arm off the mold at a later date to integrate the work into the trio. In a statement, the organizers insisted on the mold’s authenticity and pointed out that it was located for 30 years at the Valsuani foundry where Rodin produced many sculptures.

The notion of 'copies' in reference to sculpture is complex. In France, copyrighted works enter the public domain 70 years after their creator’s death. Once in the public domain, sculptures may be copied as long as certain criteria are observed: the resulting works are designated "original" if they are limited to eight copies and produced under the control of the artist’s estate. If 25 or more copies are made, the works must be marked "copy;" all the Rodin pieces exhibited in Saint-Dié fall into this category.