This couple embracing, this woman abandoning herself, this hand that the man places, barely, like a touch, on the hip of the one he loves! What work better symbolizes love? Who hasn't recognized (or dreamed of) themselves in this couple, whose blurred faces and naked bodies give them universal status?

And yet, did you know that they're not just anyone? You're looking at a mythical literary couple: Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta. In "The Divine Comedy", Dante tells their story: the two lovers are caught kissing by Gianciotto Malatesta, Paolo's brother and... Francesca's husband. The betrayed husband stabs them, and the couple are condemned to wander the circle of Hell reserved for the lustful.

It was while reading a book about the adulterous love of Lancelot and Guinevere, Dante explains, that the couple gave in to this kiss. And perhaps, in Rodin's sculpture, you've already been surprised by the man's hand placed behind the woman, which doesn't touch her and seems to embrace the void. In reality, the man is holding the famous book, which has gradually melted into the marble over the years.

This sculpture illustrating an episode from "The Divine Comedy" was originally intended, in a smaller format, to be inserted into the monumental "Gates of Hell" depicting scenes from Dante's book. It was commissioned by the future Musée des Arts Décoratifs. At the top of this door, one could also see... the Thinker, who is none other than Dante himself, thinking about scenes from his work.

The first large-format version of Le Baiser was produced in 1889.

An adulterous kiss, then, this famous kiss? Yes, and a symbolic kiss in the life of Rodin, who created the large-format version of this sculpture when he met the 19-year-old Camille Claudel. He was 42 and living with Rose Beuret. Camille Claudel and Rodin began a sultry relationship, and it was together that they worked on this statue.

Rodin's Kiss? Yes and no... The marble in the Musée d'Orsay was actually made in 1888 by Jean Turcan. Rodin had little mastery of marble sculpture. He produced versions in terracotta and plaster, and supervised the work of his marble carvers.

Did you notice that the feet and hands were disproportionately large? That's because Rodin works on them separately and gives them special importance. Perhaps it's also the size of the hands that gives the whole sculpture its strength and sensuality...