Drypoint on cream laid paper, 1883-87. 159x203 mm; 6¼x8 inches, full margins. Third state (of 4). Artist's proof, aside from the edition of 100 from L'Estampe Originale. Signed and dedicated in ink, lower right. Delteil 9; Thorson 7.
Rodin (1840-1917) made this drypoint from his terra-cotta bust sculpture from around 1883-86 (which he also made as a bronze), showing it from three different views. According to Thorson, "The Theatrical composition may be intentioned as Henri Becque (1837-1900), a close friend of Rodin, was a well-known dramatist and restorer of great realistic comedy . . . The playwright was among the distinguished writers, artists and statesmen, including J. P. Laurens, Alphonse Legros, Jules Dalou, Antonin Proust, and Victor Hugo, whose portraits Rodin made in the early 1880s when he began his series of busts of famous men and women."
