The marble sculpture “Le Désespoir” by the French artist Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) disappeared from the public sight in 1906 and appeared again at the end of 2024. At auction house Rouillac, the image eventually raised 860,000 euros.
According to expert Jérôme le Blay, the work was “unmistakably real.” The family had it for years as a decoration in family portraits on the piano. “They thought: it’s just a copy,” said auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac.
Rodin made the piece around 1890 as part of his famous project “The gates of hell”. Original marble images of Rodin are extremely rare on the market; Most are in museums.
The buyer finally turned out to be a young banker from the west coast of the US.