Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
