Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

Auguste Rodin was born on November 12, 1840 in Paris, France. Rodin has been respected for decades as one of the preeminent Realist sculptors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His methods were so innovative and unconventional that his early efforts went largely unappreciated by French critics. However, his work was popular outside of his home country, and his works eventually gained the respect and acceptance from the French as well.

Rodin was influenced by Michelangelo, whose representations of the human musculature and form greatly impressed him. Rodin felt that the body should be portrayed in a realistic, rather than ideal, form. In 1877, his nude masterpiece called L’Age d’Airin (The Age of Bronze) went on display in Brussels and Paris. Rodin spent over a year sculpting this work, and apparently did it too well. Critics accused him of casting the statue directly from living models rather than actually sculpting it.

Eventually the French grew more accepting of Rodin. In 1880, the government planned to open the Museum of Decorative Arts. Rodin was commissioned to sculpt the entrance of the planned museum. The project was called The Gates of Hell, or La Porte de l’Enfer, and was inspired by 'The Inferno' which was the first chapter in Dante's Divine Comedy. The museum site was later moved and Rodin's commission was canceled. However, he decided to continue his work and created 186 figures largely representing characters and scenes from the famous poem. six figures. These statues represented mainly scenes and characters from the famous poem. Some of them, such as The Thinker (a sculpture of Dante himself), and Adam and Eve, are among Rodin’s most famous artworks. The Kiss was originally part of The Gates of Hell, but Rodin decided not to use it because its joyful nature conflicted with the overall theme. Unfortunately, Rodin never finished the project and the statues were cast in bronze only after his death.

Rodin’s was commissioned in1891 to create his most controversial work, The Nude Balzac. This sculpture of the famous French writer drew such criticism and hatred from the French press for the next 10 years. Eventually, another sculptor was commissioned to do the work. Rodin refused to sell his version in spite of numerous offers. Many years after his death, The Nude Balzac was placed at the intersection of Boulevards Raspail and Montparnasse.

Despite early criticism, Rodin eventually achieved both fame and fortune before his death in 1917, at the age of 77.

Quotations:

"When I was very young, as far as I can remember, I made drawings. A grocer patronized by my mother used to wrap his prunes in paper bags made of pages torn from illustrated books, or even prints. I copied them; they were my first models."

"The sculptor must learn to reproduce the surface, which means all that vibrates on the surface, soul, love, passion, life...Sculpture is thus the art of hollows and mounds, not of smoothness, or even polished planes."