Rodin sculptures: photo with description

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

French expression reflected in stone. A flight of fantasy, a moment that has stopped, a pronounced sensuality of the works. These are all sculptures by Rodin.

Today we will talk about the work of this great artist, who made a huge contribution to world culture. In addition, he made a revolutionary breakthrough in sculpture.

Biography

Auguste Rodin was the second child from the second marriage of a Parisian official. He had an older sister, Marie, who managed to persuade her father to send her brother to the Little School. There the boy begins to master his future profession.

He is interested in everything related to sculpture, attends various courses, but his attempts are not very successful. For example, he did not enter the School of Fine Arts even the third time. After the death of his sister, the young man began to have problems, and for a short time he abandoned this type of activity.

He was returned to the “true path” by the priest Piey Eymar, to whom Rodin entered as a novice in a difficult periodlife. At the age of 24, the young man meets the seamstress Rosa Bere, who influenced his confidence. After starting their relationship, Auguste opens his first workshop.

After recognition at the age of forty, the artist begins a hectic life. He receives the first state order for a portal in a Parisian museum, which he never completed. The famous sculpture The Thinker by Rodin, like many others, was originally planned as part of this composition.

Further, while traveling around Europe, the artist meets critics and other sculptors who introduce him to the world of the art elite.

In recent years, Rodin got rich, bought himself an estate, he was allocated a whole pavilion from the government. Towards the end of his life, the sculptor earned extra money by creating busts and portraits of high-ranking Europeans. Among his clients were generals, artists and even kings.

Becoming

The works of the French sculptor for a long time did not find a response in the hearts of critics and society. He started as a decorator and later opened his first workshop in a stable. He was in his early twenties.

The first significant work for Rodin was a bust of Bibi, today this work is known as "The Man with the Broken Nose". But the public learned about it only a few years later, since the Paris Salon did not agree to exhibit it the first time. Rodin's sculptures are gradually being improved. Two women had the greatest influence in his life - Rosa and Camille. It is their images that are reflected in most of the works.

Later, Auguste begins to put into practice the idea"incarnations of movement in stone". This is how the works “Walking” and “John the Baptist” appear. Their sitter was an unknown Italian peasant who offered his services to the sculptor after the latter's return from Italy.

The final recognition comes to Rodin after forty years. A significant event that influenced the entire next life of the artist was his acquaintance with Antonin Proust. It was the French Minister of Fine Arts, who, like Auguste Rodin, visited the salon of Madame Juliette Adam.

Gates of Hell

Now we will talk about the most famous and significant composition of Auguste Rodin. He devoted his whole life to this masterpiece. The "Gates of Hell" subsequently resulted in the bulk of the statues, the author of which is Rodin. Sculptures with the names "Kiss", "Thinker" and many others were once only sketches in the process of creating a masterpiece.

You will be amazed, but the Frenchman has been working on this piece for over twenty years. The composition was commissioned as a decoration for the entrance doors of the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts. At that time, its construction was only planned.

It is noteworthy that from this moment begins the official recognition of the sculptor in the highest circles. Until the eighties of the nineteenth century, his work was evaluated too ambiguously. Most were generally perceived as an attack on the moral principles of society. But after the start of work on the first state order, Rodin's sculptures arouse interest amongcollectors from different countries.

In fact, the master didn't have time to finish Hell's Gate before his death. They were recreated and finally cast in bronze after his death. Many of the statues, which were an integral part of the composition, have turned into independent works of art.

What was the idea of decorating the front door of the museum? Inspired August Rodin undertook to embody all human life on this canvas. He took the poem of Dante Alighieri as a basis, but in the process of work he was greatly influenced by Baudelaire and the French Symbolists. When all this fell on the fertile ground of the author's personal impressionism, real masterpieces began to turn out. Next, we will talk about them in more detail.

Eternal Spring

Rodin's sculpture "Eternal Spring" is the embodiment of the author's impressionistic moods. In it, he expressed the true essence of passion at a time when nothing else was left. This is the second when all prohibitions collapse and the mind turns off.

The composition shows the meeting of a young boy and girl somewhere in a park or forest. Their bodies are naked, but presented in a vague manner, thanks to which the author shows the time of the event. Passion gripped the young couple at dusk.

The girl arched gracefully, but her posture shows that she is losing her strength, melting under the young man's onslaught of love. It is thanks to the stopped moment that the sculpture “Spring” has become a masterpiece.

Rodin, long before the creation of this composition, began to explore female sensuality, working withmodels. In addition, most of the sculptures were inspired by an eccentric relationship with Camille Claudel. Rodin's passion for this woman was expressed in "The Kiss", "Eternal Spring" and other frankly erotic compositions.

Kiss

The sculptures "Spring" and "The Kiss" by Rodin amaze with the images of women depicted in them. Let's take a closer look at the last one.

So, Rodin's sculpture "The Kiss" was originally called "Francesca da Rimini". It wasn't until 1887 that critics gave her a nickname that stuck with the help of the media.

This piece has an amazing story. It was created under the influence of the Divine Comedy. This poem tells about this heroine. She fell in love with her husband's younger brother. Their meetings took place while reading stories about Lancelot. Seeing the passion in their eyes, Francesca's husband killed them both. The tragedy is described in the Fifth Canto of the Second Circle of Hell.

It is noteworthy that the kiss does not occur in the sculptural composition. Their lips are close together but not touching. The young man holds a book in his right hand. That is, by this the author wanted to say that "platonic" lovers died without sinning.

The main difference between Rodin's women is on an equal footing with men. They are not subordinate, but are in the position of a partner, experiencing the same feelings in strength. They also have the same rights as the opposite sex to realize their aspirations.

When a reduced bronzecopy of The Kiss, the jury did not allow it to be put on public display. She was in a closed room with access only by appointment and permission. The basis of this attitude was the obvious eroticism of the moment, which expresses the composition. In addition, the antique naturalness of the figures was not entirely accepted in American society of that period.

Today there are also official copies of the sculpture, made by the artist to order. The first is in the Rodin Museum and was commissioned by the French government for 20,000 francs. The second was bought by a collector from England, but it did not live up to his expectations and for a long time was behind the stable. Today it is located in Liverpool, but English museums often rent it. The third copy is in Copenhagen. Three more sculptures were bought by the Musée d'Orsay. Thus, the composition, initially accepted with hostility, nevertheless received public recognition after the death of the author.

The Thinker

Now we will talk about the most famous work of the French artist. The sculpture The Thinker by Auguste Rodin was created in two years, from 1880 to 1882.

This statue bears the influence of the genius Michelangelo Buonarotti, the Italian writer Dante Alighieri and his Divine Comedy. The original name of the sculpture is "Poet". This layout was once part of the sculptural composition "The Gates of Hell". Today, the work is exhibited in the Paris museum of this artist.

As for many other compositions, Auguste Rodin was posed by a Parisian boxer and streetfighter Bo Jean. He had an athletic build and good muscle definition. It is noteworthy that this sculpture is made with maximum allegorism. The author tried to express physical power in isolation from the image of a particular person.

Surprisingly, the sculpture "The Thinker" by Rodin was first shown to the public in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It was later cast in bronze and exhibited in Paris. The size of the new bronze version has been increased to 181 centimeters. Until 1922, he was in the Pantheon, and after - in the Rodin Museum.

It is noteworthy that at the opening of the sculpture in the Pantheon in 1904, the author stated that this composition is a monument to the workers of France.

Today there are more than twenty copies of this statue in France and other countries. For example, in Philadelphia, near the Rodin Museum, in Copenhagen, near the entrance to Columbia University.

Citizens of Calais

A completely new approach to art makes Rodin's sculpture stand out from the crowd. The photo of the composition "Citizens of Calais" only confirms this.

If you try to analyze these statues, you can come to ambiguous conclusions. The artist's innovation was expressed primarily in the absence of a pedestal. Auguste Rodin insisted on the position of the figures at the level of passers-by, in addition, an important reservation was about their size. They were planned in human growth.

Why were such conventions important for an artist? To understand this, one should look at the history that formed the basis for the monument.

Duringthe Hundred Years War, the English king laid siege to the city of Calais. The inhabitants, refusing to surrender, locked the gates and prepared for a long blockade. The siege lasted over a year. Food supplies were running out and the people of Calais were forced to surrender.

The English monarch Edward III presented the following conditions on which he would accept surrender. He was to be given six rich and eminent citizens to be executed. But the draw was not needed. First out was Eustache de Saint-Pierre, the richest banker in the city. He decided to sacrifice himself to save his beloved city. He was followed by five more noble citizens.

Amazed by such self-sacrifice, the wife of the English king begged her husband to pardon them. These six were not executed.

Thus, Rodin's sculptures symbolize that heroism is hidden in each of us. It is only necessary to create certain conditions for its manifestation.

Bronze Age

The next work of the great French sculptor has a very interesting story. It contains the artist's admiration for visiting Renaissance monuments and the failure of academia to embrace new ideas.

So, what did Auguste Rodin do wrong to art? Sculptures usually depict some idea in the material plane. It can be either abstract or concrete.

The difficulty was that when creating the sculpture, later called the "Bronze Age", the author did not get distracted by the details. He simply made a cast from the body of a Belgian soldier, who struck him with his athletic physique.

Later on thisthe cast was simply cast a bronze figure. This is what angered most critics. They felt that it was not an expression of art, but just an ordinary amateur project. But the French creative elite defended Rodin's sculpture.

What does the author himself say about this? He wanted to express all the courage of the soldiers of France in the figure of this soldier. But in the process of working on the work, the concept was completely changed. The final cut was intended to evoke in the audience a sense of rebellion and the awakening of human power, and not serve as a reflection of suffering.

If you look closely at the figure, we will notice an obvious imitation of Michelangelo Buonarotti's sculpture "The Dying Slave". Indeed, this is true, because the work was created after a trip to Italy.

Legacy

To date, there are officially three museums in the world dedicated to the work of this artist. Sculptures by Rodin are exhibited in Paris, Philadelphia and Meudon, where the master's grave and former villa are located.

Auguste Rodin during his lifetime allowed copies of his creations to be made for commercial purposes. Thus, more than half a thousand duplicates of the Eternal Idol and The Kiss sculptures were officially produced in foundries.

Thanks to this policy of the great master, his masterpieces in the form of copies are in the most famous museums in the world. They can be found among exhibits in the Hermitage (St. Petersburg), the Pushkin Museum (Moscow), the National Gallery of Art (Washington), the Metropolitan (New York), the Copenhagen Museum and other institutions.

However, in 1956 in Francea law was officially passed that prohibits all copies already made from the thirteenth from being considered authentic. Legally, from that time on, only twelve copies were allowed to be taken from each creation of Auguste Rodin. But since all rights after the death of the artist were transferred to his French museum, this decision does not affect the rights of the heirs.

Critic scores

We met with such a phenomenon of French culture as Auguste Rodin. Sculptures of this artist ended up in many museums around the world. Why did the audience love his style so much? Let's listen to the critics.

Rodin's work is permeated through and through with two innovative ideas with which he revolutionized the art of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

First, it's movement. His creations have a life of their own. They just froze for a second under the testing eyes of the audience. It seems that a moment will pass, and they will begin to breathe again, their veins will pulsate, and their figures will move.

To create this effect, the master spent hours watching and making sketches from nude sitters who walked around his studio. Moreover, he categorically did not recognize the services of professional poseurs. Auguste invited only young people from the common people. Workers, soldiers and others.

Secondly, this is emotionality. The author believed that the sculptures live their own lives, changing after their creator. Therefore, Rodin did not recognize completeness and canons. While working, the Frenchman made a series of casts of sitters from different angles. So gradually formed his masterpieces,emerging from a kaleidoscope of details seen from multiple angles.

So, today we got acquainted with the life and work of Auguste Rodin, one of the greatest sculptors of the nineteenth century.

Travel more often, dear friends! Enjoy life in all its manifestations.