Sculptures of Rodin: photo description

French expression, reflected in the stone. Flight of fantasy, a moment stopped, a pronounced sensuality of works. All this is sculpture of Rodin.

Today we will talk about the work of this great artist, who made a huge contribution to world culture. In addition, he made a revolutionary breakthrough in sculpture.

Biography

Auguste Rodin was the second child from the second marriagea Parisian official. He had an older sister, Marie, who managed to persuade his father to send his brother to the Little School. There the boy starts to master his future profession.

He is interested in everything related tosculpture, attends different courses, but the success of his attempts does not differ. For example, he did not attend the School of Fine Arts, and the third time. After the death of his sister, the young man began to have problems, and he for a short time abandoned this activity.

He returned it to the "true path" priest PiejAimar, whom Rodin entered as a novice in a difficult period of his life. At 24, the young man gets acquainted with the seamstress Rosa Bere, who influenced his confidence. After the beginning of their relationship, Auguste opens his first workshop.

After recognition at the age of fortythe artist begins a stormy life. He receives the first state order for a portal in the Parisian museum, which he could not manage. The famous sculpture "Thinker" Rodin, like many others, was originally planned as part of this composition.

Further, during his travels to European countries, the artist gets acquainted with critics and other sculptors who introduce him into the world of art elite.

In recent years, Rodin has grown rich, acquired himselfestate, from the government he was allocated a whole pavilion. Toward the end of his life, the sculptor moonlighted creating busts and portraits of high-ranking Europeans. Among his clients were generals, artists and even kings.

Becoming

The works of the French sculptor for a long time did not find a response in the hearts of critics and society. He began as a decorator, later he opened the first workshop in the stable. He was just over twenty.

The first significant work for Rodin was the bustBibi, today this work is known as "A man with a broken nose." But the public only learned about it after a few years, since the Paris Salon did not agree to expose it for the first time.
Sculptures of Rodin are gradually being improved. The greatest influence in his life had two women - Rosa and Camille. It is their images that are reflected in most works.

Later, Auguste begins to put into practice the idea"The embodiment of motion in stone." So there are works "Walking" and "John the Baptist". A model for them was an unknown Italian peasant who offered the sculptor his services after the latter returned from Italy.

The final confession comes to Rodinafter forty years. A significant event that affected the artist's entire next life was the acquaintance with Antonen Proust. It was the French Minister of Fine Arts, who, like Auguste Rodin, visited the salon of Madame Juliette Adam.

Hell Gate

Now we are talking about the most famous and significantcompositions of Auguste Rodin. This masterpiece he devoted all his life. "The Gates of Hell" subsequently resulted in the bulk of the statues, authored by Rodin. Sculptures with the names "Kiss", "Thinker" and many others were once just sketches in the process of creating a masterpiece.

You will be amazed, but over this workthe Frenchman worked for more than twenty years. The composition was ordered as decoration for the entrance doors of the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts. At this time, its construction was only planned.

It is noteworthy that from this moment beginsofficial recognition of the sculptor in the higher circles. Until the eighties of the nineteenth century, his work was assessed too ambiguously. The greater part was generally perceived as an attack on the moral principles of society. But after starting work on the first state order, the sculptures of Rodin awaken interest from collectors from different countries.

In fact, the master did not have time to finish the "Gatehell "until his death. They were recreated and cast completely from bronze after his death. Many of the statues, which were part of the composition, turned into independent works of art.

What was the design intent of the inputdoor of the museum? Inspired by Auguste Rodin undertook to embody on this canvas the whole human life. He took as a basis the poem of Dante Alighieri, but in the process of work he was greatly influenced by Baudelaire and the French Symbolists. When this all fell on the fertile soil of the author's personal impressionism, real masterpieces began to turn out. Next, we'll talk about them in more detail.

Eternal spring

Rodin's sculpture "Eternal Spring" isthe embodiment of the impressionist moods of the author. In it, he expressed the true essence of passion at that moment when nothing left anymore. This is the second when all bans are broken and the mind is turned off.

The composition shows a meeting of a young boy andgirls somewhere in the park or forest. Their bodies are naked, but served in a vague manner, thanks to which the author shows the time of the event. Passion swept the young couple in the twilight.

The girl curved gracefully, but her posture shows that she loses her strength, bleating under the onslaught of the young man. It is thanks to the stopped moment and the sculpture "Spring" became a masterpiece.

Roden long before the creation of this composition beganexplore feminine sensuality by working with models. In addition, most of the sculptures were inspired by an eccentric relationship with Camille Claudel. Rodin's passion for this woman was expressed in "Kiss", "Eternal Spring" and other frankly erotic compositions.

Kiss

Sculptures "Spring" and "Kiss" Rodin amaze with the images of women depicted in them. Let's take a closer look at the latter.

So, Rodin's sculpture “The Kiss” was initially called “Francesca da Rimini”. Only in 1887 did the critics give her a nickname, which was entrenched thanks to the assistance of the media.

This piece has an amazing story. It was created under the influence of the Divine Comedy. This poem tells about this heroine. She fell in love with her husband's younger brother. Their meetings took place while reading stories about Lancelot. Noticing the passion that showed through in their views, Francesca's husband killed both of them. The tragedy is described in the Fifth song of the Second Circle of Hell.

It is noteworthy that in the sculptural compositionKiss does not occur. Their lips are close to each other, but do not touch. In his right hand a young man holds a book. That is, by this the author wanted to say that the "platonic" lovers died without having sinned.

The main difference between Roden women - in equalposition with men. They are not subordinate, but are in the position of a partner, experiencing the same feelings of strength. They also have identical with the opposite sex rights to the realization of aspirations.

When the exhibition was sent to Chicagoa reduced bronze copy of the Kiss, the jury commission did not allow her to be put on public display. She was in a locked room with admission only at the time of recording and resolution. The basis of this attitude was the obvious eroticism of the moment that the composition expresses. In addition, the antique naturalness of the figures was not entirely accepted in American society of that period.

Today there are official copiessculptures made by the artist to order. The first is in the Rodin Museum and was created by order of the French government for 20 thousand francs. The second was bought by a collector from England, but she did not meet his expectations and for a long time was behind the stable. Today it is located in Liverpool, but it is often rented by English museums. The third copy is in Copenhagen. Three more sculptures bought the d'Orsay museum. Thus, the composition initially accepted “in hostility” received a public recognition after the death of the author.

Thinker

Now we will talk about the most famous work of the French artist. The sculpture “The Thinker” by Auguste Rodin was created in two years, from 1880 to 1882.

This statue bears the influence of the geniusMichelangelo Buonarotti, Italian writer Dante Alighieri and his Divine Comedy. The original name of the sculpture - "Poet". This layout was once part of the sculptural composition "Gates of Hell." Today, the work is exhibited in the Paris museum of this artist.

Like many other tracks, Auguste RodinThe Parisian boxer and street fighter Bo Jean posed. He had an athletic physique and good muscle relief. It is noteworthy that this sculpture is made with maximum allegorical. The author tried to express physical power in isolation from the image of a particular person.

Surprisingly, the sculpture "The Thinker" Rodinwas first shown to the public in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. She was later cast in bronze and exhibited in Paris. The size of the new bronze version has been increased to 181 centimeters. Until 1922 he was in the Pantheon, and after - in the Rodin Museum.

It is noteworthy that at the opening of the sculpture in the Pantheon in 1904, the author stated that this composition is a monument to the workers of France.

Today there are more than twenty copies of this statue in France and other countries. For example, in Philadelphia, near the Roden Museum, in Copenhagen, near the entrance to Columbia University.

Citizens of Kale

A completely new approach to art distinguishes Rodin from the masses. Photo composition "Citizens Kale" only confirms this.

If you try to analyze these statues,can come to ambiguous conclusions. Innovation of the artist was expressed primarily in the absence of a pedestal. Auguste Rodin insisted on the position of figures at the level of passers-by, in addition, the reservation about their size was important. They were planned in human growth.

Why were such conventions important for an artist? To understand this, one should refer to the history that served as the basis for the monument.

During the centenary war, the English king laid siege tothe city of Kale. Residents, refusing to surrender, locked the gate and prepared for a long blockade. The siege lasted more than a year. Provision reserves were running out, and the population of Calais was forced to surrender.

English monarch Edward III presented the followingthe conditions under which he will accept the surrender. He should have been given six rich and eminent citizens, so that he executed them. But the draw was not needed. The first came Yustache de Saint-Pierre, the richest banker in the city. He decided to sacrifice himself in order to save his beloved city. He was followed by another five noble citizens.

Struck by this self-sacrifice, the wife of the English king begged her husband to pardon them. This six was not executed.

Thus, Rodin's sculptures symbolize that heroism is hidden in each of us. It is only necessary to create certain conditions for its manifestation.

Bronze age

In the next work of the great FrenchThe sculptor has a very interesting story. It contains the admiration of the artist from visiting the monuments of the Renaissance and the inability of academic circles to accept new ideas.

So, what did Auguste Rodin go wrong with art? Sculptures usually depict an idea in the material sense. It can be both abstract and concrete.

The difficulty was that creatingthe sculpture, later called the Bronze Age, was not distracted by the author. He simply made a copy of the body of the Belgian soldier, who struck him with the athletic character of his physique.

Later on this cast was just castbronze figure. This is what angered most critics. They considered that this was not an expression of art, but simply an ordinary amateur project. But the French creative elite defended the sculpture Rodin.

What does the author himself say about this? He wanted in the figure of this soldier to express all the courage of the soldiers of France. But in the process of working on the work the concept was completely changed. The final version was supposed to cause in the audience a feeling of rebellion and the awakening of human power, and not serve as a reflection of suffering.

If you look closely at the figure, wenote the obvious imitation of Michelangelo Buonarotti's The Dying Slave sculpture. Indeed, this is so, because the work was created after a trip to Italy.

Heritage

Today, there are officially threeMuseum in the world dedicated to the work of this artist. Sculptures of Rodin are exhibited in Paris, Philadelphia and Medon, where the tomb and former master's villa are located.

Auguste Rodin in life allowed to make copies oftheir creations for commercial purposes. Thus, more than half a thousand copies of the Eternal Idol and Kiss sculptures were officially produced in foundries.

Thanks to this policy of the great master, hismasterpieces in the form of copies are in the most famous museums of the world. They can be found among the exhibits in the Hermitage (St. Petersburg), the Pushkin Museum (Moscow), the National Gallery of Art (Washington), the Metropolitan (New York), the Copenhagen Museum and other institutions.

However, in 1956 in France was officiallyA law has been passed that prohibits the recognition of all copies that have already been made, starting with the thirteenth, as genuine. Legally, from this time onwards only twelve copies were allowed to be removed from each of Auguste Rodin’s works. But since all rights after the artist’s death were transferred to the French museum, the rights of the heirs do not affect this decision.

Assessments of critics

We met with this phenomenonFrench culture like Auguste Rodin. Sculptures of this artist were in many museums of the world. What is so fond of the audience his style? Let's listen to the opinions of critics.

Creativity Rodin thoroughly permeated with two innovative ideas, with which he revolutionized the art of the late nineteenth - early twentieth century.

First is the movement. His creations live their own lives. They just froze for a second under the spectating gaze of the viewers. It seems that an instant will pass, and they will start breathing again, their veins will pulsate, and the figures will move.

To create this effect master clockI observed and made sketches from the nude models that walked around his studio. And he categorically did not recognize the services of professional posers. Auguste invited only young people from the common people. Workers, soldiers and others.

Secondly, it is emotional. The author believed that the sculptures live their own lives, changing after their creator. Therefore, Roden did not recognize completeness and canons. While working, the Frenchman made a series of models of models from different angles. Thus, his masterpieces were gradually formed, resulting from a kaleidoscope of details seen from several angles.

So, today we met with the life and work of Auguste Rodin, one of the greatest sculptors of the nineteenth century.

Travel more often, dear friends! Enjoy life in all its manifestations.

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