Eternal Spring

This sculpture has no direct relation to the composition of the magnificent unfinished Gates of Hell, the main bronze doors of the proposed Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, which were commissioned to Rodin by the French government in 1880. In its subject, it is more close to the Kiss which is part of this complex work, including 186 sculptures. Originally, it was called Zephyr and the Earth or The Youth. This image of lovers embodies the poetry of youthful sensuality. Rodin employed a special method of working the stone, generalizing form, not finishing the marble in the hollows. The outline seems to be dim and the white marble to let light into its surface, creating an impression of purity and chastity in a scene of love.