Sunday Evening Art — Auguste Rodin

 

François Auguste René Rodin (1840 – 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture.

The Old Courtesan (La Belle qui fut heaulmière)

 

Rodin endured a somewhat tumultuous life in his early years that nearly discouraged him from becoming an artist.

The Three Shades

 

He wanted to attend the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in his teens, but was denied three times. He worked for decades as a craftsman, but completely abandoned his pursuit to be an artist after the death of his sister in 1862.

The Kiss

 

Rodin joined a Catholic order that same year, but it was Saint Peter Julian Eymard who noticed Rodin’s incredible talent and encouraged him to resume his life as a sculptor.

The Thinker

 

 

A trip to Italy in 1875 sparked his creativity after having studied the sculptures of Donatello and Michelangelo.

Young Girl with Roses on Her Hat

 

After this, Rodin was inspired to create a number of masterful pieces of sculpture that are considered to this day to be among the greatest works in history.

Monument to Balzac

 

Rodin stripped away many of the narrative references to classical myth that were still attached to academic sculpture in the late-19th century and placed a new stress on the dignity of simple human moments.

Burghers of Calais

 

Rodin was a naturalist, less concerned with monumental expression than with character and emotion.

Madame X (Countess Anna-Elizabeth de Noailles)

 

He dedicated most of the last 40 years of his life to working on an expanse of sculptures that formed what Rodin titled The Gates of Hell.

 

The pieces associated with this work are considered to be Rodin’s greatest accomplishments.

More of Auguste Rodin’s sculptures can be found at https://www.musee-rodin.fr. , https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rodn/hd_rodn.htm and https://www.artst.org/rodin-sculptures/.