A previously unknown painting of Auguste Rodin in a Madrid gallery has been uncovered thanks to the eagle eye of an art fanatic.
Museo Lazaro Galdiano, located in Madrid, houses a large collection, formed with encyclopedic interest in all the arts and techniques. Image by Oscar Gonzalez/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Luis Pastor, a graphic designer, made the discovery last Friday at the Museo Lázaro Galdiano in the Spanish capital, which he describes as “a great museum little-known outside Madrid.” He was browsing the portraits in the miniatures room when he came across a painting that was labelled as being of King Leopold II of Belgium: a controversial ruler who oversaw years of human rights atrocities in the Congo from 1885 to 1908.
Pastor, a former fine arts student, quickly identified that the painting was in fact of French sculptor Rodin. “When I saw the picture it was automatic: it’s Rodin,” he told Lonely Planet Travel News. “I read the title and saw another name, so I had to read it three times to check I was reading the correct one. Then I quickly googled Leopold II and I saw there were some similarities, but I trusted my first impression.”
Pastor explained that it was eye colour that was the giveaway, as Leopold had dark eyes while Rodin was blue-eyed: “I went home and started looking for oil portraits of Rodin, as I needed colour to compare the eyes.”
#FelizMartes Ya tenemos “veredicto” definitivo: tras numerosos análisis comparativos con retratos de ambos personajes, la miniatura, con número de inventario 3711, pasa a ser el retrato del escultor Auguste Rodin ¡muchas gracias a @Luis_pastor por plantearlo! #arte #art pic.twitter.com/ur63rxHniD
— MuseoLázaroGaldiano (@Museo_Lazaro) June 4, 2019
He then took to Twitter to share his discovery, and by Tuesday he had been proved right, with the museum tweeting: “We now have a definitive verdict. After numerous comparative analyses of portraits of both men, the miniature, catalogue number 3711, turns out to be a portrait of the sculptor Auguste Rodin. Many thanks to Luis Pastor for bringing it up!”
Pastor was a huge Rodin fan as a student, explaining “I like artists with a strong personality and strong artwork. Rodin’s sculpture can sometimes be as soft as silk, other times as strong as a punch. He revolutionised art history from the inside and created impressionism in 3D.”
He acknowledges that the internet was hugely important in his discovery coming to light. “Without Twitter, I would never have contacted the museum. The Museo Lázaro Galdiano was quick, kind and very professional; they told me they receive reports like mine every year, but mine was the strongest they saw in a long time. Thanks to the internet, I could compare the pictures with friends openly and became more and more convinced I was right. But art is not an exact science so I felt it was a long shot!”
Pastor told us how proud he is of his findings, saying “I feel like I’ve solved a cold case, hidden in plain sight.” And cryptically he revealed that this may not be the end of the story: “I am keeping in contact with the museum, and I think more surprises will unfold regarding this little painting of Rodin.”
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