Artist of the day: Artist of the day, December 27: Auguste Rodin, French Sculptor

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Artist of the day, December 27: Auguste Rodin, French Sculptor

François Auguste René Rodin (1840 –1917), known as Auguste Rodin was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. He was schooled traditionally, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition, although he was never accepted into Paris's foremost school of art.

Sculpturally, Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface in clay. Many of his most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime. They clashed with predominant figurative sculpture traditions, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic. Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, modeled the human body with realism, and celebrated individual character and physicality. Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, but refused to change his style. Successive works brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community.

From the unexpected realism of his first major figure – inspired by his 1875 trip to Italy – to the unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought, Rodin's reputation grew, such that he became the preeminent French sculptor of his time. By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Rodin's work after his World's Fair exhibit, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. He married his lifelong companion, Rose Beuret, in the last year of both their lives. His sculptures suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades, his legacy solidified. Rodin remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside the visual arts community.

The Rodin Museum was opened in August 1919 in a Paris mansion that housed the artist's studio during his final years. After several years of reconstruction, the museum was reopened in 2015 on Nov. 12, Rodin's birthday. With much of its revenue supplied by the sale of bronze casts made from original molds, the space also features unearthed pieces from Camille Claudel, who was Rodin's lover/muse and worked as his assistant for some time. Their relationship is said to have inspired many of the artist's more overtly amorous works, including 1882's "The Kiss."