By Luciano Migliaccio
The sculpture is part of a series of twelve pieces cast in bronze and signed by the Rudier foundry Meditation, or Voix Intérieure (“Inner Voice”). According to the Musée Rodin catalogue, it was originally conceived for the door panel in The Gates of Hell. At the 1897 Paris Salon a 78 x 29 cm model of this sculpture was shown, the left arm of which is bent in such a way that the hand rests on the figure’s chest, in a pose that resembles Michelangelo’s Slaves. A life-size marble sculpture also based on this model is to be is found at the Musée Rodin.

— Luciano Migliaccio, 1998

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