In 1909 the composer Gustav Mahler and the sculptor Auguste Rodin, arguably the greatest composer and the greatest sculptor of the time, met in Paris. Both were transitional figures in their respective fields, representing the end of an era in their creative work. Their respective legacies nevertheless also inaugurated new ideas and inspired younger composers and sculptors. Rodin sculpted two portraits of Mahler, one of which — in pure white marble — is the main focus of the article. The refinement and beauty of this work is different from Rodin's male portraits in that the head is stylised like many of his female portraits, an ambiguity compounded by the fact that Alma Mahler, the composer's wife, wrote in her memoirs that Rodin fell in love with his model during the sittings. An understanding of the marble bust calls for an analysis of the life and work of the composer, fraught with ambiguities - as reflected in that superb portrait.