What was the name of Auguste Rodin’s 1877 sculpture that caused accusations of casting from life?

The Age of Bronze was the 1877 Rodin sculpture that caused accusations that he had cast directly from a living model. The work’s unusually naturalistic surface and convincing anatomy led some critics to doubt that it had been modeled by hand.

Rodin used a Belgian soldier, Auguste Neyt, as the model. The figure originally carried a spear, but Rodin removed it, leaving an ambiguous pose that suggests awakening rather than a clearly identified mythological or historical character.

The controversy eventually subsided, and the sculpture helped establish Rodin’s reputation. Its French title, L’Âge d’airain, is also translated as The Bronze Age. The episode is often remembered because it illustrates how radical Rodin’s lifelike modeling appeared to contemporary viewers.