Jules E. Mastbaum, Philadelphia
Mrs. Jefferson Dickson (née Louise Mastbaum), Beverly Hills (by descent from the above)
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 16th November 1989, lot 139
Purchased at the above sale by the late owner

New York, Curt Valentin Gallery, Auguste Rodin, 1954, no. 77, illustrated on the cover of the catalogue
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Rodin, 1968, no. 98
Martigny, Fondation Gianadda, Rodin, dessins et aquarelles des Collections suisses et du Musée Rodin, 1994, no. 26, illustrated in the catalogue
Andros, Fondation Basil & Elise Goulandris, Musée d'Art Contemporain, Auguste Rodin - Camille Claudel, 1996, no. 68, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Munich, Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Rodin - Der Kuss - Die Paare, 2006-07, no. 127, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin & Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Linie, Licht und Schatten. Meisterzeichnungen und Skulpturen der Sammlung Jan und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 1999, no. 105, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, The Timeless Eye. Master Drawings from the Jan and Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski Collection, 1999, no. 122, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Miradas sin Tiempo. Dibujos, Pinturas y Esculturas de la Coleccion Jan y Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2000, no. 143, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, La passion du dessin. Collection Jan et Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2002, no. 126, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Vienna, Albertina Museum, Goya bis Picasso. Meisterwerke der Sammlung Jan Krugier und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2005, no. 72, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Albert Elsen & John Kirk T. Varnedoe, The Drawings of Rodin, New York, 1971, fig. 18, illustrated p. 44

Executed on cream card, not laid down. The edges are slightly curved, and the lower right corner appears to have been cut at a diagonal (not visible when framed). There are five small repaired tears to the extreme left edge, one repaired tear to the lower part of the right edge and two small repairs to the upper edge. There is some paper skinning towards all four edges. The collage element is secure. There is some very minor rubbing to some of the white gouache, with some associated tiny paint losses. There is some minor staining to the card in places. Otherwise this work is in overall good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Exploring one of the most complex psychological and intensely dramatic episodes in Greek tragedy, the myth of Medea has captivated and inspired countless artists: from Delacroix in his Medea Furiosa of 1838, to Martha Graham’s contemporary dance interpretation in Cave of the Heart, 1946, and Pasolini’s 1969 film adaptation of the myth starring Maria Callas. The title and protagonist of Euripides’ tragedy, first rehearsed in Athens in 431 B.C., Medea was the sorceress daughter of King Colchis, desperately in love with Jason, and helping him and the Argonauts to steal the prized Golden Fleece from her father. When Jason falls in love with another woman in Corinth, Medea takes brutal revenge by poisoning her love rival and even slaying her two children borne from Jason.

Both a mother and a lover, emotive, passionate and human, the character of Medea is torn between base human instinct and rationality. She overturns the traditional role of the caring mother, and Rodin was clearly fascinated by the deep-rooted psychological  intensity of Medea’s predicament. The present work counts as one of what are known as his ‘black’ drawings, a series he executed as preparation for his Gates of Hell commission, which was based on Dante’s cycle of the Inferno of the Divine Comedy. Jason’s seduction relegates him to the circle of Hell, and Dante employs Virgil to narrate Jason’s seduction of yet another woman Ipsipile, who is 'abandoned there, alone and pregnant; such a deed condemns him to such punishment; and Medea too takes her vengeance upon him. With him go all those who use such fraud...’ (Dante Alighieri, Divina Commedia, Inferno, XVII, 91-97). Though Medea is depicted very much as the victim in Dante’s version, Rodin’s interpretation depicts her as a more ambiguous and destructive character, wrestling with her child as he grapples to escape from her tight, manic grasp. Quite apart from being a fascinating psychological portrait of torment and love in its most intense form, the present work is also an important and rare example of collage and decoupage in Rodin’s work, anticipating its extensive use in the development of Cubism in the early 20^th Century.