Which Rodin sculpture was commissioned by the Société des Gens de Lettres for Honoré de Balzac?

The Société des Gens de Lettres commissioned Rodin’s Monument to Balzac for Honoré de Balzac.

The commission asked Rodin to create a monument honoring the French novelist Honoré de Balzac. Rodin researched Balzac’s appearance and personality, made studies and portraits, and developed a powerful figure wrapped in a large robe rather than a conventional realistic statue.

When the plaster was exhibited in 1898, many critics and members of the commissioning society disliked its unusual form. The society rejected the work and commissioned another monument, while Rodin kept defending his artistic solution.

The Monument to Balzac later became recognized as a landmark of modern sculpture. It demonstrates Rodin’s preference for expressive mass, silhouette, and psychological presence over literal surface description.