Casgliadau Arlein

Roedd Ioan Fedyddiwr yn destun poblogaidd ymhlith cerflunwyr y Salon, a fyddai fel rheol yn cyfleu corff dyn ifanc, yn hytrach na sant aeddfed. Llwyddwyd i gael yr osgo hwn yn hollol ddifyfyr gan nofis o fodel o'r enw Pignatelli pan ddywedodd Rodin wrtho i ddechrau cerdded. Model arall oedd y pen. Cafodd y gwaith cyfan ei arddangos am y tro cyntaf fel plastr ym 1880. Cafodd y gyfres efydd y mae'r gwaith hwn yn perthyn iddi ei chastio gan Alexis Rudier, a ddaeth yn fwriwr haearn i Rodin ym 1902. Prynwyd y gwaith gan Margaret Davies ym Mharis ym 1913.

St John the Baptist was a popular subject with Salon sculptors, who generally depicted a youthful figure, rather than the mature saint. This pose was spontaneously assumed by a novice model named Pignatelli when instructed by Rodin to start walking. Another model sat for the head. The whole figure was first exhibited as a plaster in 1880. The bronze edition to which this work belongs was cast by Alexis Rudier, who became Rodin's founder in 1902. It was purchased by Margaret Davies in Paris in 1913.