Danaida

Mediums: marble.
Location: private collection.

The image of Danaida is one of Rodin’s most touching and expressive works. According to Greek mythology, the Danaids, the daughters of King Danae, who killed their husbands on their wedding night, were punished for their crime and forced to fill the bottomless vessel in the kingdom of Hades endlessly. The despair of a young girl, doomed to eternal torment, is conveyed by her unusual posture as if frozen in stone. Rodin created this sculpture when he had feelings for Camille Claudel, his talented student and co-author of many works. This relationship inspired the master to create the most delicate and sensual works, among which “Danaida” is particularly fragile and marvellous.