In 1900, the critic Gustave Kahn wrote, "Rodin is the sculptor of hands, raging, tensed, arched, damned hands". There is no doubt that Rodin attached more importance to this part of the body than any other. Fascinated by the expressive power of isolated hands, he studied them unceasingly, accumulating in his studio numerous studies in clay or plaster, in which the sensitivity of the modelling vies with the verisimilitude of the gesture.

Through hands, Rodin expresses the full range of human emotions, from anxiety to suffering, from resignation to despair. As revealing as the face, on their own they can sometimes symbolize a form of human activity, such as this Hand of a Pianist which seems to run over an imaginary keyboard with nervous energy.

(source; boutique Rodin)

This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.