The inner voice

Auguste Rodin
France
1840 – 1917

The inner voice
c.1894; enlarged 1895-96; cast 1982
bronze
Currently on display, Gallery 13
Place made
Paris
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
146.0 x 76.0 x 45.0 cm
Credit line
William Bowmore AO OBE Collection. Gift of the South Australian Government, assisted by the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation 1996
Accession number
962S8
Signature and date
Signed on horizontal surface of base, front left: "A. Rodin". Not dated.
Media category
Sculpture
Collection area
European sculptures

  • Rather than pursuing anatomical correctness or finish, Auguste Rodin was interested in the extent to which sculpted bodies could express emotion through the manipulation of form. Here, he has severely distorted the female figure to explore themes that touch on selfhood and introspection.
    The laterally leaning upper body, with its head resting on the right shoulder, establishes a tranquil, curving rhythm that flows throughout the entire work. Such articulation would have been compromised, for example, by the inclusion of arms and the left knee.
    Originally devised as one of a large number of nude studies for Rodin’s apotheosis, The Gates of Hell, The inner voice both shocks and seduces the eye with its violent amputations and serene, almost topographical, undulations. Thanks to its serpentine pose and dramatic sideways projection of the head, the sculpture achieves brilliant effects of torsion and plasticity.

    Tony Magnusson, Curator of European Art, 2016–18


  • A Celebration: Recent Acquisitions of Heritage and Contemporary Art

    Art Gallery of South Australia, 30 August 1996 – 22 September 1996

  • VERSUS RODIN: BODIES ACROSS SPACE AND TIME

    Art Gallery of South Australia, 4 March 2017 – 16 July 2017
  • [Book] AGSA 500.