Edward Perry Warren's "Paolo Malatesta": il nudo maschile nella statuaria -- LEWES, Sussex.

Speranza

In 1900, Rodin made a copy for Edward Perry Warren and John Marhsall, who lived in Lewes in Sussex, England, with his collection of Greek antiquities.

After seeing The Kiss in the Salon de Paris, William Rothenstein recommended it to Warren as a possible purchase.

But The Kiss had been commissioned by the French government and was not available for sale.

In its place, Rodin offers to make a copy.

Warren offers half of its original price (10,000 francs, instead of 20,000), but Rodin would not lower the price.

The contract for the commission included that "the genitals of the Paolo Malatesta must be complete."

A previous letter explained that "being a pagan and lover of antiquities", Warren hoped that the genitals of Paolo Malatesta would be sculpted prominently in the Classical Greek tradition rather than modestly hidden.

When the sculpture arrived in Lewes in 1904, Warren places it in the stables at the back of his home, Lewes House, on School Hill, where it remained for a decade.

It is not known whether this location was chosen due to the great size of the sculpture or because it did not fulfil Warren's expectations.

In 1914 the sculpture was loaned to the Lewes town council and put on public display in the Town Hall.

A number of puritanical local residents, led by headmistress Miss Fowler-Tutt, objected to the erotic nature of the sculpture.

They were particularly concerned that it might encourage the ardour of the large number of soldiers who were billeted in the town at that time, and successfully campaigned to have the sculpture draped and screened from public view.

It was returned to Warren's residence at Lewes House in 1917 where it remained stored in the stable for 12 years until Warren's death in 1929.

The beneficiary of Warren's will, H. Asa Thomas, put the sculpture up for sale with Gorringes, the local auctioneers.

It failed to meet its reserve price and was withdrawn from sale.

A few years later it was loaned to the Tate Gallery in London.

In 1955 the Tate bought the sculpture for the nation at a cost of £7,500.

In 1999 between June 5 and October 30, The Kiss returned briefly to Lewes as part of an exhibition of Rodin's works.

Its regular home is now the Tate Modern.

However, in September 2007, the work was transferred to the Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock where it assumed pride of place for the duration of the celebrations surrounding both that city's 8th Centenary and Liverpool's European Capital of Culture status in 2008.

It is currently on loan to the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh (until 2nd February 2014).