Auguste Rodin - French Artist From Art History

Historical Artist - Auguste Rodin (1840 - 1917)

Auguste Rodin, born François-Auguste-René Rodin, was a French artist, most famous as a sculptor. He was the preeminent French sculptor of his time, and remains one of the few sculptors widely recognized outside the visual arts community. Auguste Rodin sculptures were created out of plaster, bronze, and marble, and were actually carved by professional craftsmen with the occasional assistance from Auguste Rodin.

Auguste Rodin was schooled traditionally in Paris's École des Beaux-Arts system, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition. Early in his career, Auguste Rodin was denied enrollment in the art school of his choice, and also received poor reviews from critics who did not recognize his talent as a modeler.

In 1877, he became known in Paris with his life size male nude, Age of Bronze. Not long after in 1880, he was offered a commission from the French government to design the doors to a new museum of modern art. Auguste Rodin created the Gates of Hell, however the museum was never erected and the gates were never finished. In 1891, Auguste Rodin received another commission from the Societe des Gens de Lettres to design a monument to the late author Balzac. Auguste Rodin presented the sculpture in 1908, however it was deemed crude and offensive to the society.

Auguste 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 about his work, but did not change his style, and successive works brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community.

By 1900, Auguste Rodin was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Auguste 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 life-long companion, Rose Beuret, in the last year of both their lives. His sculpture suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades his legacy solidified.

Quotes on Art by Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin: Sculpture is The Art of Depression and Protuberance

" In sculpture the first ...principle is that of construction. Construction is the first problem that faces the artist studying his model, whether that model is a human being, animal, tree or flower. The question arises regarding the model as a whole and regarding it in its seperate parts. All form that is to be reproduced ought to be reproduced in its true dimensions, in its complete volume. "

" Scupture is quite simply the art of depression and protuberance. There is no getting away from that. "

Auguste Rodin: Art and Nature

" As paradoxical as it may seem, a great sculptor is as much a colorist as the best painter, or, rather, the best engraver. He plays so skillfully with all the resources of relief, he blends so well the boldness of light with the modesty of shadow, that his sculptures please one so much as the most charming etchings. "

Auguste Rodin: Michelangelo and the Gothic

" To sum it up, the greatest genius of modern times has celebrated the epic of shadow, while the ancients celebrated that of light. And if we now seek the spiritual significance of the technique of Michelangelo, as we did that of the Greeks, we shall find that his sculpture expressed restless energy, the will to act without the hope of success - in fine, the martyrdom of the creature tormented by unrealizable aspirations ..."

" To tell the truth, Michelangelo does not, as it is often contended, hold a unique place in art. He is the culmination of all Gothic thought ..."

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