By the time Rodin presented 'The Age of Bronze' to the British public at the Royal Academy in 1884, the controversy that had surrounded its exhibition in Brussels and Paris in 1877 had been resolved.
There, the accusations made against Rodin of taking casts direct from his model, although hurtful in the short term served only to heighten the work's impact and thereby enabled him to achieve his determined aim to make a single piece of sculpture to establish his reputation. After several attempts to clear his name, he finally succeeded in convincing the Salon officials of his integrity with the support of a distinguished phalanx of established sculptors. This work was acquired with assistance from the Wolfson Foundation.
Provenance
Purchased directly from Rodin by Sir Gervase Beckett in 1906/7, thence by descent to Sir Martyn Beckett Bt.