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 non-conventional 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 traveled 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. 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. |
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