This bust is a portrait of Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the most famous writer of his generation. The author of the books Notre-Dame de Paris and Les Misérables, a poet, and a playwright, he was also involved in politics, and Rodin admired him as a true genius. This portrait is based on drawings that Rodin made in Hugo’s home, because his aging subject could not sit and pose for hours. The artist tried to evoke the visionary spirit, intelligence, and dignity of a modern hero nearing the end of his life.
