The Martyr (sculpture)

The Martyr or The Little Martyr is a c.1885 plaster sculpture of a naked dead or sleeping female figure by Auguste Rodin, now in the Musee Rodin.[1] It is a study for a figure in the top left of Rodin's major work The Gates of Hell, though he later removed the corresponding figure from Gates.[2][3] The figure currently is held by It was originally exhibited at the Exposition Universelle, representing the Bronze Age, and is now in the Musée Rodin in Paris.[4]

The martyr
French: La martyre
Artist	Auguste Rodin
Year	1885 (1885)
Type	Sculpture
Medium	Bronze
Dimensions	27.6 cm × 148 cm × 98.5 cm (7.0 in × 37.6 in × 25 in)
Location	Museo Soumaya, Mexico City

Musee Rodin casting

There is an enlarged blackened bronze cast of the work now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.[5] He later removed the figure's head to produce Flying Figure (c.1890) - a cast of this is now also in the Metropolitan.[6]

References

1. "Figure volante de la Porte de l'enfer ou Petite Martyre".
2. Rodin The Martyr
3. The Martyr
4. (in Spanish) La puerta del infierno (Primera Edición edición). México: Fundación Carlos Slim A.C. 2016. p. 255. ISBN 978-607-7805-18-2
5. Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Martyr
6. "Flying Figure".