RODIN, Auguste
(b. 1840, Paris, d. 1917, Meudon)

Gustav Mahler

1909
Bronze, height 36 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Ascetic, sharp features give the composer an aristocratic look. Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) modeled for Rodin, though the sittings were difficult to endure for the nervous composer, who saw rest as "time wasted away from his work," as Alma Mahler remembered.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 11 minutes):
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5, Adagietto