Mignon portrays Rodin’s lifetime companion and eventual wife,
Rose Beuret (1844–1917), in the guise of a character from a
novel by the German Romantic writer Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe (1749–1832). With unruly hair, parted lips, and an
angry, hurt expression, the sculpture has often been interpreted
as a reflection of tensions in the couple’s relationship due to
Rodin’s dalliances with other women. His radical taste in
patination is evident here in unusual turquoise and orange
hues, likely produced by Jean Limet, a studio assistant and
photographer, who used the same chemicals for both processes.