Rodin exhibit at VAG
From June 18 to Sept. 22, 2005, the Vancouver Art Gallery showcases 70 wonderful Rodin pieces from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.
Rodin: Magnificent Obsession examines the artist’s sculptural practice, his major commissions and the evolution of his style through versions of some of his most recognizable sculptures, such as The Thinker and The Kiss and monumental works such as The Gates of Hell, The Monument to Balzac and The Burghers of Calais.
At the height of his career, Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) was regarded as the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo.
He pioneered modern sculpture through the use of fragmentation and changed monumental sculpture from the tradition of “man on horse” to dynamic three dimensional spatial studies. He was willing to depict the figure in ways that suggest the frailty and vulnerability of humanity as well as the beauty and power of our bodies.
Rodin’s sculpture is often intensely emotional and expressive. He was also an exceptional entrepreneur and developed a significant studio practice that involved the creation of versions of works of varying scale and with varying materials.
Of all the works by Rodin, the most famous one is unquestionably the great Thinker.
It was modelled in 1880-1882 for The Gates of Hell, and exhibited in its original size (H. 71.5 cm) in Copenhagen in 1888. It was enlarged in 1902 and exhibited in this form at the Salon of 1904 where it aroused strong reactions from the press.
It was on this occasion that Gabriel Mourey, editor of the magazine Les Arts de la vie, launched a subscription for a bronze “offered to the people of Paris” to erase the affront caused by the refusal of the statue of Balzac in 1898.
The Thinker was the first work by Rodin to be erected in a public place. It was inaugurated in front of the Pantheon on 21 April 1906 during an intense political and social crises which turned this sculpture into a socialist symbol.
In 1922, using as a pretext that the statue created an obstacle during ceremonies, it was transported, with its pedestal, to the garden of the Hôtel Biron which had by then become the Rodin Museum. Another example was placed over the tomb of Rodin in Meudon.
For a comprehensive look at the variety of work created by Rodin, visit this website: Rodin Museum.