On November 12th, 1840, Auguste Rodin was born. I have several interesting books that mention Rodin.The first is “Captions Courageous” or “Comments from the Gallery” by Bob Reisner and Hal Kapplow, published 1958. It is a comedic book that takes paintings and sculptures and gives them weird quotes.
Rodin did many sculptures of people still encased in stone.
A similar type of book is “Statues of Limitations, by Denison Hatch, published 1961.
There are several entries of Rodin in the book, but I liked this one.
And this one.
I also have an interesting little book “The Thinker” published by The Fine Arts Museum of San Fransisco, 1970. It is a book based on various close-up shots from the Thinker.
I really enjoy the book “Rodin, the Man and His Art, with Leaves from His Notebook”, compiled by Judith Cladel, published 1918.
This old book does a nice job of going into the history of Rodin. It also has a fair amount of photographs tipped into the book. It is a favorite art book of mine.
I was lucky to have visited the Musée Rodin with some friends. In the heart of Paris, one can step away from the hussle and bussle, into a quiet museum. Inside are hundreds of statues and bronzes, along with many painting that Rodin did. And then you can walk into the peaceful garden behind the building. The whole place is wonderful.
As well as “The Thinker” and “The Kiss”, there is the famous “Gates of Hell” a 3-D door representing Dante’s Inferno. Over the door is the first time Rodin sculpted “the Thinker”. The museum did a wonderful job of showcasing all types of work that Rodin had done. It was a suprise to see such different styles of his art, all in one place.
I came away with a different, and deeper respect and awe of Rodin. In a lot of his work, it seems as if not just a person is trying to climb out of rock, Rodin himself is trying to escape some inner prison as well. The museum is worth the visit.
Happy Birthday Auguste Rodin. Here are a few more memories:
“The artist must create a spark before he can make a fire and before art is born, the artist must be ready to be consumed by the fire of his own creation.” -Auguste Rodin.
* Auguste Rodin
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