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Aurel Gheorghe Ardelean

The Three Shades at The Musee Rodin statue

The Three Shades at The Musee Rodin statue

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In Dante’s Divine Comedy, the shades, i.e. the souls of the damned, stand at the entrance to Hell, pointing to an unequivocal inscription, “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here”. Rodin made several studies of Shades, before finally deciding to assemble three identical figures that seem to be turning around the same point. He placed them on top of The Gates, from where they could gaze down at the spectator, then had them enlarged to create a monumental independent group in 1904. As in Adam , whose twisting, tormented pose The Three Shades have borrowed, Michelangelo’s influence is obvious here. The angle at which the heads fall downward is so exaggerated that the necks and shoulders form an almost horizontal line. It was through anatomical distortion like this that Rodin achieved an expressive force quite unparalleled in his time. By assembling three casts of her, Rodin's wins for himself the painter's advantage. The margins become engaged intervalls, so that the repeat of this one irregular body yields infinite rhythmic amplifications. In her essay 'Rodin's Gates of Hell: Sculptural illustration of Dante's Divine Comedy' Aida Audeh, however, points to Canto XVI as the literary source of 'The Shades' and their threefold appearance on top of 'The Gates'. In this part of the poem, Dante meets the souls of three Florentine men condemned for the act of sodomy. The punished figures are exposed to a rain of fire and in incessant motion while trying to avoid the scorching heat. In 1887 Cosmo Monkhouse interpreted 'The Three Shades' as a personification of the first three lines of the inscription over the door of Dante's Hell: The Gate of Despair ... The lintel is surmonted by a group of three nude, emaciated, and miserable figures, the plastic translation of the first three lines of the well-known inscription over the door of Dante's hell: 'Per me si va nella citta dolente, Per me si va nell' eterno dolore, Per me si va tra la perduta gente'... By what sad harmony of unlovely lines the artist has quelled our natural aversion to such a sight, by what subtle touches he has transformed these ghastly images into a voice which stays our feet, possibly M. Rodin himself could scarcely tell but it is something more than a tour de force, for it shows the operation of the born artistic faculty which cannot conceive except in accordance with the great laws of fitness and harmony

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Please, if you like any sculpture but you are not sure how it will look like in real life, write us an email and our managers will give you all the information you need.


Sculpture reproductions are a popular way of making art more accessible. We use several methods to create reproduction sculptures, each with its unique process.

  • Creation of plastic sculptures:

To create a plastic sculpture reproduction, we use 3D printing technology. The first step is to print a plastic version of the original sculpture using a 3D printer. After 3D printing, we process the plastic sculpture by hand, which includes sanding, smoothing, filling any gaps or imperfections, and covering the sculptures with a special material to ensure durability for outdoor use. Our goal is to create a high-quality replica that faithfully reproduces the original sculpture. Once the plastic sculpture has been sanded and smoothed, we paint it by hand using high-quality paint in plaster, marble, bronze, and other colors to achieve a durable finish.

  • Creating impressions:

Many reproductions are created using environmentally friendly materials such as marble, plaster, and bronze. These materials are used to create high-quality replicas that look and feel like the original sculpture. The process of creating a casting involves making a mold of the original sculpture and then pouring the chosen material into the mold. This process requires a lot of manual work to keep the shape accurate and without air bubbles.

After the material has hardened, we remove the mold and clean and finish the reproduction by hand. This process ensures that each sculpture is a high-quality copy of the original sculpture.

Creating reproductions of sculptures requires great skill and attention to detail. Regardless of whether we use 3D printing technology or traditional casting methods, our goal is always the same: to create a high-quality replica of the original sculpture that accurately reflects the artist's vision. With the use of environmentally friendly materials and an emphasis on manual work, we ensure that our reproductions are of the highest quality.

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  • Production and delivery time

Sculptures up to 18 inches in size take 2 to 3 weeks to produce. We do not have mass production, as each sculpture is handmade by our craftsmen, making each sculpture unique. Sculptures larger than 18 inches require different lead times, depending on the size and complexity of the sculpture and its coating. Our managers will let you know the lead time for custom orders.

Delivery takes on average 2 weeks from the time of shipment. Since we are located in Ukraine, delivery time depends on the recipient country. But usually it is not more than 3 weeks anywhere in the world.

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