Rodin

A small marble sculpture thought to be a copy of the French artist Auguste Rodin's work has turned out to be the real thing, selling for almost $1m at an auction in France on Monday.

But the woman in her sculpture, made early in her tenure working in the busy studio of Auguste Rodin, leaves classicism far behind.

Her art influenced her titanic mentor, Auguste Rodin.

There’s a stunning and compact portrait-bust of Rodin, in which the focused concentration of his life-size head seems to rise up out of a tumult below, represented by his lengthy, swirling, thickly tangled beard.

The couple also showcased their collection of old master paintings, Han dynasty Chinese ceramics and work by van Gogh and Rodin.