Auguste Rodin (French, 1840 - 1917) The Kiss, 1898 Bronze, 1898

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Auguste Rodin (French, 1840 - 1917)
The Kiss, 1898
Bronze, 1898
Artist Biography :
August Rodin is considered to be one of the greatest and most prolific sculptors of the 19th and 20th centuries. His
artworks were so innovative and unconventional that Parisian art critics had initially denounced them. Despite these
rejections, Rodin’s works were well received outside of France and eventually won the recognition of his
countrymen.
Born in Paris on November 12, 1840, Rodin expressed interests in art at an early age. When he was 14, he
attended “la Petite Ecole”, a school for drawing and mathematics. However, devastated by the death of his beloved
sister, Rodin turned towards religion and joined the Order of the Holy Sacrament in 1862. It was during this time that
Rodin sculpted the bust of Father Piere-Julien Eynard. Realizing that religion was not his calling, he returned to
Paris in 1963.
After a brief employment as a corporal in the French National Guard, Rodin travelled to Belgium and Italy, where he
studied Michelangelo’s works. Rodin was greatly impressed and influenced by the Italian sculptor’s portrayal of
muscles and human body. Contrary to artistic tradition of his time, Rodin believed that sculptures should reflect the
subjects as they truly are, and not as the ideal that they should be.
In 1877, Rodin exhibited his nude masterpiece L’Age d’Airin (The Age of Bronze) in Brussels and Paris.
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Unfortunately, this realistic work of art was not well received. Critics accused Rodin of casting the statue directly
from living models, instead of sculpting it. In time, Rodin’s true genius was recognized and the French government
purchased The Age of Bronze as the first of many state acquisitions of his artworks. The French government
commissioned Rodin in 1880 to sculpt the entrance of the planned Museum of Decorative Arts. This project, called
La Porte de l’Enfer (The Gates of Hell), was inspired by The Inferno, the first chapter of Dante’s Divine Comedy.
The museum site was later moved from the bank of Seine to the Louvre, and Rodin’s commission was then
cancelled. Despite the setback, Rodin continued to work on this project and created one hundred and eighty-six
figures. These statues represented mainly scenes and characters from the famous poem. Some of them, such as
The Thinker (a portrayal of Dante himself), Adam and Eve, are among Rodin’s most famous artworks. The Kiss was
originally part of The Gates of Hell until Rodin realized that the sculpture’s joyful nature conflicted with the theme of
The Gates of Hell. Unfortunately, Rodin never finished the project and the statues were cast in bronze only after his
death.
Rodin’s most controversial artwork, The Nude Balzac, was created under commission in 1891. This sculpture of the
famous French writer drew criticisms and hateful comments from French papers for the next 10 years. Eventually,
the commission was given to another sculptor and the resulting statue was installed at the Avenue Friedland in
1902. Rodin refused to sell his Nude Balzac despite numerous offers. It was not until years after his death that the
sculpture was placed at the intersection of Boulevards Raspail and Montparnasse and viewed as the masterpiece
that it truly is.
By early 20th century, Rodin had become so well know that the Paris World Exposition gave him his own pavilion.
Rodin displayed 170 sculptures at the 1900 Exposition. Major museums and collectors from around the world
sought after his artworks and brought him both fame and fortune.
In 1908 Rodin moved his studio to the ground floor of the Biron Hotel, which was established as the official Rodin
Museum in 1919. Rodin died at the Biron on November 17, 1917 at the age of 77.
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