Rare Rodin Bronze Sketch to Be Auctioned for £150,000 at Sloane Street on July 8

Fallen Angel inspired by Gates of Hell masterpiece

EXETER, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, July 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- An extremely rare bronze cast by Auguste Rodin himself around 1900 comes up for sale at Sloane Street Auctions on July 8 with hopes of £150,000.

Rodin (1840-1917) is considered the Father of Modern Sculpture, best known for The Thinker, The Kiss and the six-metre high, four-metre wide, Gates of Hell, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy.

Known variously as The Fallen Angel or The Fall of the Angels, the sketch in Sloane Street Auctions' sale depicts two entwined figures that recall those on the monumental Gates of Hell and would have been created around 1890, before being cast in bronze around ten years later.

The group shows a winged figure, one of the angels referred to as being cast out of Heaven after siding with Satan (Revelation 12:4). A marble version appears in The Cleveland Museum collection, but this bronze, with a green and brown patina with black undertones, was produced using the sandcasting method typical of Rodin. It was probably cast at the Griffoul Foundry, Paris and is signed ‘A. Rodin’

It is thought that one more cast of this piece may have been made at the Alexis Rudier foundry sometime later. However, that cast – if it ever existed – remains untraced, and documentation that survives suggests that it may have been of the finished model rather than sketch. Whether this piece is unique or not, the cast of the sketch, on sale here, is certainly extremely rare. There are no posthumous casts. The estimate is £120,000-150,000.

Crucially, the bronze sketch also has an impeccable provenance dating back almost a century. Auction records show it sold at the Hotel Drouot's Etude Baudouin-Bellier in Paris on June 9, 1933. Subsequent sales include Sotheby’s in London, in June and then November 1966; Sotheby’s New York, in April, 1968; Etude Briest at the Hotel Drouot in June, 1987; and Christie’s in London in June 2000, where it was acquired by the H. Gordon Collection of New York (acquired at the above sale). It later entered a UK private collection.

“As well as its wonderful provenance and signature, the sheer artistry of this magnificent piece leaves the viewer in no doubt that this is the work of Rodin, the master of sculpture in its modern form, ” said Daniel Hunt, owner of Sloane Street Auctions.

“This is even rare than his greatest works, which occur in several versions, so this really is a one-off opportunity for the connoisseur to acquire such a piece.

“These sort of pieces would have been a natural fit for Christie’s South Kensington in its day, but now that has gone, we find that consignors tend to come to us, so we are delighted to play our part in keeping this tradition of higher end works coming to London beyond the confines of Bond Street and St James. It is also a happy coincidence that our auctioneer, Hugh Edmeades, was Christie’s South Kensington’s former chairman.”

Live online bidding is available via Sloane Street Auctions’ website at www.sloanestreetauctions.com

For further information contact info@lucasfieldmedia.com Tel 07968 952850

Images courtesy of Sloane Street Auctions

Caption: Head of Impressionist & 20th Century Art at Sloane Street Auctions with Rodin sculpture, Maud Johnson

About Sloane Street Auctions

Sloane Street Auctions was founded by Mr Daniel Hunt after spending over 30 years as a high-profile gallery owner and dealer, based at his galleries in Lower Sloane Street, London. Daniel Hunt’s intimate knowledge of the upper tiers of the art and antique sectors throughout millennia, from BC to 2022, provides Sloane Street Auctions with unprecedented access to private collections worldwide and the best of access to specific expertise.

Sloane Street Auctions’ primary objective is to work with both our buyers and sellers to provide the art market access to the rarest objects and art - from Classical Antiquities, Icons and Old Masters, right through to the YBAs and beyond.

Sloane Street Auctions takes great pleasure in dealing with people. We aim to provide a seamless and pleasant service, whether buying or selling. Our vision is to unearth the world’s greatest treasures and to match them with the world’s greatest collectors, whether an occasional buyer or a seasoned connoisseur. Sloane Street Auctions prides itself in providing the highest level of client service and discretion.

With Daniel’s contacts spanning over 40 countries worldwide, accumulated over a lifetime in the industry, Sloane Street Auctions empowers our community of connoisseurs and collectors to acquire and consign the greatest of fine art and objects at a highly competitive rate.

With Daniel Hunt’s expertise in curating some of the most renowned private collections worldwide, Sloane Street Auctions has the ability to source a wide variety of extraordinary pieces. Sloane Street Auctions’ concentrates on, but is not limited to, Old Master Drawings and Paintings, European Furniture and Works of Art, Impressionist Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, Photography and Private Sales.

Julia Macquisten
Lucas Field Media
info@lucasfieldmedia.com