Gary Arseneau - Deception: Are These Really Rodins?

"A RODIN" SIGNATURE 

In referring to Auguste Rodin’s lifetime practice of signing his bronzes, on page 22 of the former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent’s 1988 RODIN book, she states: 

"Most of the bronzes are stamped with the artist’s signature (copied from an example supplied by him and also with the stamp of the foundry). Some, although perfectly authentic, are unsigned. But there is no question of any of them being numbered or dated; these are modern methods, linked with notion of rarity and speculation in art." 

This documentation directly confirms that during Auguste Rodin’s lifetime he authorized his "signature" to be stamped on his bronzes. So once Auguste Rodin died in 1917, the State of France would have the "right of reproduction" to his art but would anyone other than Auguste Rodin have the right to posthumously apply his signature? 

In her essay "Rodin and His Founders" on page 290 in the 1981 Rodin Rediscovered exhibition catalogue the former curator Monique Laurent writes: 

"It had been thought that a dating element could be found thanks to the cachet A. RODIN, cast in relief on the interior of certain casts by Alexis Rudier. According to the founder Georges Rudier, the addition of this mark would have been agreed on with the Rudier Foundry after the trial of 1919 in which Montagutelli was implicated in order to betray illicit castings, but there exist several casts made during Rodin’s lifetime bearing this signature." 

The above published reference shows the arrogance of the Musee Rodin and the State of France. They act as if they are the only ones that can counterfeit Auguste Rodin’s signature. When in fact no one but the artists can sign their name.