I invent nothing, I rediscover - Rodin

I have seen quite a few Rodin’s sculptures. Some just a couple of feet in size to human figures that are much larger than an average human being could possibly be. One is so struck by the intricacy of the work that size becomes secondary. But there is something special about the sizes - either much smaller or much larger than life. I did not know this till I read that they were deliberately so, as a result of a significant event early on in the artist’s life.

Rodin’s first major sculpture was ‘The age of Bronze’. It was so realistic and well proportioned that he was accused of having taken a cast of a living model! Rodin vigorously denied it. He won his case. Then on, he seems to have ensured that he is never accused of that act again.

Auguste Rodin, a French sculptor, was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. He was never accepted into Paris's foremost school of art.

Many of his most major sculptures were criticized during his lifetime. Rodin's work departed from traditional themes of mythology and modeled the human body with realism. Though aware of criticism, he refused to change his style. Later, his works received acceptance.

Rodin's reputation grew and by 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. He was compared to Michelangelo.

His drawing teacher at school who believed in teaching his students to observe and draw from memory, made a great impact on Rodin.

He earned a living as a craftsman and ornamenter for most of the next two decades, while taking classes with an animal sculptor. The teacher's attention to detail and his finely rendered musculature of animals in motion greatly influenced Rodin.

He had acquired skill and experience as a craftsman, but no one had yet seen his art, which sat in his workshop since he could not afford castings. Rodin visited Italy where he was drawn to the work of Michelangelo. He began work on The Age of Bronze, a life-size male figure whose realism brought Rodin attention but led to accusations of sculptural cheating.

Rodin won the commission to create a portal for a planned museum of decorative arts. Rodin dedicated the next four decades to his elaborate Gates of Hell, an unfinished portal for a museum that was never built. It was a monumental sculptural group depicting scenes from Dante's Inferno. It comprised of 186 figures. Many of Rodin's best-known sculptures started as des

igns of figures for this portal, such as The Thinker, The Three Shades, and The Kiss.

Other notable works are The Walking Man, Meditation without Arms, and Iris, Messenger of the Gods. The Thinker (originally titled The Poet, after Dante) became one of the most famous sculptures in the world.

He was commissioned to create a monument to French writer Victor Hugo and the memorial to French novelist Balzac. Later, Rodin made busts of prominent contemporaries including playwright George Bernard Shaw.

A prolific artist, he created thousands of busts, figures, and sculptural fragments over more than five decades. He painted in oils and in watercolors. There are 7,000 drawings and prints, in chalk and charcoal, and thirteen vigorous dry points. He also produced a single lithograph.

Rodin was a naturalist, concerned with character and emotion. His sculpture suggested emotion through textured surfaces, and the play of light and shadow. Rodin believed that an individual's character was revealed by his physical features. This we can see amply in The Thinker - the grip of his toes on the rock and the knuckles of his hands pressing his lips.

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Published in Colour Canvas in Sept 2018