Victor Hugo’s death inspired Auguste Rodin’s monument to Victor Hugo.
Victor Hugo, the author of Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris, died in 1885. After his death, Rodin received commissions connected with commemorating the celebrated French writer, whose public stature made him a major subject for national memorial art.
Rodin approached Hugo’s image in a way that differed from a conventional heroic statue. His studies and designs explored the writer’s head and expressive presence, emphasizing character rather than relying only on a formal standing portrait.
Rodin also created a monument to Honoré de Balzac, another major French writer, but that was a separate commission. Hugo and Balzac are therefore commonly confused when discussing Rodin’s literary subjects.