Gustave Biot, Brussels (a gift from the artist circa 1877-79)
Colonel Gustave Jorissen, Brussels (by descent from the above)
Private Collection, Belgium (by descent from the above)
Acquired from the above in 2005

Cécile Goldscheider, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre sculpté, vol. I, Paris, 1989, no. 35, illustrations of other versions in marble, plaster & terracotta p. 59
Vers l'Age d'Airain. Rodin en Belgique (exhibition catalogue), Musée Rodin, Paris, 1997, p. 113
Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin, vol. I, Paris, 2007, p. 130

Work is in good condition. Mounted on black wooden base. Light brown patina. Minor patina rubbing around base and tip of nose. A few very shallow hairline cracks on back of head, otherwise fine.
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.
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By 1864, Rodin was employed by the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse to whom Napoleon III and Baron Hausmann had awarded extensive commissions. Under Hausmann's direction, the urban renewal of Paris required architectural sculptures for the newly constructed buildings. Rodin respected the work of Carrier-Belleuse and sculpted for his studio until 1870. 

Rodin executed a number of portrait busts between 1865 and 1870, many of unknown subjects but predominantly of women. Discussing the series of busts, John L. Tancock writes: "These works are remarkable for their elegance, charm, and the brio of their execution. They are also a signal proof of the young Rodin's astonishing facility, his ability to express himself with felicity in any number of syles” (John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, p. 576).

L'Orpheline alsacienne was a great critical success when it was first exhibited in 1871, and Rodin issued a number of new versions in 1880, some in marble and some in terracotta. There are two known versions of this sculpture and this one, with the head turned to the right, is less commo. The other version with tilted head was reproduced in greater numbers, probably at a later date. The subject of the Alsatian child is notable for 1871 given the loss of the Alsace and Lorraine provinces during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. Carrier-Belleuse and Rodin both executed busts of Alsatian women in perhaps a nostalgic nod to these territories.

The present example comes from the heir of Gustave Joseph Biot, a close friend of the artist to who this cast wasꦑ likely given as a gift. Biot was a major supporter of Rodin while he was living in Belgium and produced a portrait of the artist which is currently in the Musée Rodin in Paris.