The Maclaren collection: towards a scientific catalog (1)

The donation of ca. 50 Rodin plasters to the MacLaren Art Center in Barrie, Canada, publicly announced in April 2001,  has raised some intensely discussed questions about their provenance, quality and art-historical status.

As we found out, this collection had been put together by the Gruppo Mondiale Est, a private cultural organization based in Italy, who had acquired a large  number of items originating from the settlement of the former Rudier Foundry. Although this origin was unquestioned, scholars and art critics were unsure about the precise status and significance of these plasters, since the majority of the collection consists of so called foundry plasters, that were either sent in to the foundry by Rodin himself, or were duplicated from such examples by the foundry craftsmen, in order to prevent damage to first-generation plasters that might occur during the casting process. 

As a matter of fact, some of the donated plasters look quite battered and discolored, due to the use of solving agents in the creation of moulds, whereas others show sharp detail and good surface quality, as can be expected from studio or exhibition plasters.