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Auguste Rodin
(1840-1917)
The Kiss
Auguste Rodin was
one of the greatest sculptors of the late 19th and 20th
centuries. Born in Paris to a working class family,
Rodin exemplified talent in art so innovative, it was
not accepted at the time. He was denied acceptance to
the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, but was accepted at a school
for decorative sculpture.
Male Nude
What many people do
not realize is that Rodin was not strictly a sculptor,
but created watercolors, sketches and other
non-sculpture art pieces. These pieces were not just
created as a young man, but towards the end of his life
as well. Around 1915, Rodin became obsessed with the
idea of depicting dancers, and created a number of loose
sketches of them. Many of his sketches and watercolors,
like his sculptures, were fluid and erotic in nature,
and were in a style of his own.
Five Dancers, sketch
Seated Male Nude
Female Nude, watercolor & pencil
Spring, etching & drypoint
Nero
Fame did not come
quickly for Rodin, but took many years for him to gain
artistic acceptance. His methods, subjects and
techniques were far different from the academic school
and he was shunned or ignored for many years before
being accepted. Rodin preferred to use colorful figures
such as street performers, acrobats and dancers as well
as amateur models for his sculptures.
Eternal Springtime
Rodin moved to Belgium
early in his career where he worked in a studio creating
decorative sculpture, all the while continuing to create
sculpture on his own. Despite having little academic
training in traditional sculpture, Rodin had the natural
talent to create extremely lifelike sculpture on his
own. In fact, as a beginning sculptor, Rodin was even
accused of surmoulage, a method of taking plaster molds
directly from a live model, because the features on one
of his pieces was so perfect.
Bust of Balzac
By 1880, Rodin had
been able to revive his career after having his
reputation as a sculptor drug through the mud. Thus
began a very long project, which would be one of Rodin’s
biggest achievements. The Museum of Decorative Arts
commissioned him to create a grand entryway, and for the
next 37 years Rodin worked on “The Gates of Hell” for
the museum. This enormous piece, which featured scenes
from Dante’s “Inferno” would be one of his greatest
achievements. Alas, the museum was never built, but the
infamous gate remains today.
The Gates of Hell
The Gates of Hell, detail
Dante would again show
up in Rodin’s work in the form of one of his other
famous pieces “The Thinker”. This sculpture, which
depicts the poet Dante, is perhaps one of his most
enduring pieces, and has been replicated, parodied and
used as a popular icon worldwide. This statue, and many
others, were meant to accompany “The Gates of Hell” but
instead became independently famous and important
sculptures.
The Thinker
While Rodin’s talent
as a sculptor was undeniable, his private life was just
as colorful and was constantly under scrutiny. Despite
having a long-standing relationship with a Belgian woman
(and also the mother of his only son), Rodin was
unfaithful with both his models and his students. In
1883, a beautiful and extremely talented 18 year-old
student named Camille Claudel came to work in his
studio, and the two instantly became an intimate,
working couple. The two would work together and have a
tumultuous affair for the following 15 years, but it
would not last. Rodin would not leave the mother of his
child for Claudel, and so their relationship ended and
Claudel would live the rest of her life in a mental
institution.
Cupid and Psyche
By the 1890s, Rodin
began receiving fewer public commissions because his
work was not widely accepted. However, he still
continued to create pieces on a grand scale and was
considered France’s greatest artist in his lifetime. He
had an enormous staff of stonecutters, students and
other workers in his studio to help him create his
sculptures, and continued to create work up until the
very end.
Bust of composer Gustav Mahler
Today, it is not very
likely that someone would come across a sculpture by
Rodin that was unknown or wrongly authenticated because
of his great fame. However, because his paintings and
drawings are much lesser known, it is more likely that
one of his paper pieces turns up. Figure studies for
future sculptures, as well as practice paintings in his
early career could be anywhere, of anything. It is
unknown how many of these may be in existence, but in
truth, the possibility for one of his paper pieces
turning up is quite great.
