THIS WILL BE THE BLOCKBUSTER OF THE YEAR
This would be the blockbuster of the year. It’s a century since Rodin died. He was 77. The influence he has had and continues to have on 20th century and later artists, is considerable. That I was looking forward to seeing. He was an extremely versatile artist/sculptor and in many respects when his work is looked at today, it is as modern as a lot of our contemporary artists. Especially his drawings.
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| Brume du soir - 1902 |
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| Femme nue aux jambes fléchies - 1900 |
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| George Baselitz (1938-) Peuple chose zéro: 2009 |
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| Le Penseur - 1903 |
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| Rodin & Baselitz |
What I was not expecting was the overwhelming number of statues, studies, sketches and other artist’s work. Every time I thought the exhibition had finished, we seemed to go on for one, two or more galleries. When I got home and started looking at the 100’s of photos (yes, you read right), I didn’t know where to start. Sculptures had been taken from different angles. Some of them looked so much better when they were not face on….
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| Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1881-1919) Young Man Sitting - 1916-17 |
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| Wilhelm Lehmbruck- Prostrate - 1915 |
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| Wilhelm Lehmbruck- Prostrate - 1915 |
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| Rodin - Feminine Torso - 1914 |
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| Rodin - Feminine Torso - 1914 |
No way though that I could have crowded this chapter with all those photos. I hope the choice is an interesting one for you.
The exhibition is structured into three major sections. Rodin the expressionist, Rodin the experimenter and the effects of the shock-wave after the 2nd world war or after 1945. Then, each section is broken down again…it’s not confusing when you are there, but would be if I tried to reconstruct it. I won’t. We will add photos in the order that I have taken them, with comments as I go along.
A comment which could be interesting is the Prague exhibition in 1902 where Rodin was invited by the artist's association. Manes. He showed 88 sculptures and 75 drawings. My first thought, is how did they transport all that work? The conditions could certainly not be as good or as secure as today. His work was met with a tremendous reception.
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| Max Svabinsky (Czech 1873-1962) Rodin inspiré - 1902: Probably served as the invitation to the exhibition |
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| Frantisek Simon (Czech - 1877-1942) At the exhibition |
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| Josef Maratka (Prague, 1874-1937) Ruth Saint Denis 1906 |
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| Rodin - 1900 |
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| Antony Gormley (1950-) Concept 2002 |
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| Antony Gormley (1950-) Threshold - 2002 |
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| I'm sorry but the title is blurred |
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| Markus Lüpertz (1921-2012)- No Title |
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| Jean Fautrier (1898-1964) Nu pour Allelula 1942-44 |
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| Egon Schiele (1890-1918) Naked woman with forearm lifted |
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| Henri Matisse (1869-1964) No Title 1930-32 |
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| Picasso (1881-1973) Couple Enlacé -1901 |
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| Tracey Emin (1963-) Lonely Chair Drawing |
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| Giacometti (1901-1966) |
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| William De Kooning (1904-97) Gerard: Figure on the beach - 1970 |
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| George Baselitz - No title - 1992 |
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| Rodin - Shadows of Man and child - 1880 |
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| Eugène Dodeigne (1923-2015) - No title 1981 |
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| Rodin & Ernest Chaplet (1835-1909) Bacchante assise riant - around 1888-90 |
Of course it is quite obvious that the modern artists that we know today were not included in the Prague exhibition. I have displayed those I saw. I am sure Rodin would have approved.
So, at the turn of the 20th century, just as young artists were going though an impressionist period, young sculptors (many of them who were also artists) embarked on a "Rodinesque" period.
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| Henry Moore (1898-1986) Animal Head - 1978 |
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| Henry Moore - Flint Torso - 1978 |
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| Annette Messager (1943-) Les Mains, série Mes Trophées -1987 |
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| Annette Messager - Le Couteau-baiser - 1984 |
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| Rodin - Le Martyre 1899 |
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| Rodin - Right arm of the Whistler Muse - 1908-1908 |
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| Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1921) Guerrier mourant...1895-1902 |
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| Joseph Bernard (1866-1931) L'Homme, fragment du Fardeau de la vie - 1987 |
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| Rodin - Mask of Camille Claudel and left hand of Pierre de Wissant - around 1895? |
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| Rodin - La Cathedrale but they are hands all the same - 1908 |
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| Picasso - Le Fou - 1905 and Rodin, Study for Saint George (1903) |
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| Robert Couturier (1905-2008) Saint Sébastien -1944 |
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| George Kolbe (1877-1947) |
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| Rodin - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes - around 1891 |
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| Rodin - Henry Becque - around 1904 |
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| Rodin - Feminine torso and coiled snake - 1895-1910 |
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| Picasso - Absinthe Glass - 1914 |
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| Picasso - Head of woman - 1906-07 |
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| Rodin - Small head with turned up nose ! around 1900 |
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| Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967) Torso of a destroyed town - 1951-63 |
As you may know, this particular sculture of Balzac was refused by "the People's Letters Society" as they didn't recognize the novelist in his "dressing gown" ! Today it is in a small square quite close to Montparnasse and until it was brought to my attention, I never really saw it. Shame on me!
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| Rodin - Balzac's robe de chambre -1897 |
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| Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) Costume en feutre - 1970 |
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| Balzac- 1898 |
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| Rodin - Dance movement - 1911 |
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| Markus Lüpertz - Dance movement - 1911 |
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| Rodin- Nikinski - 1911 |
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| Thomas Housseago (1972-) The Walking Man ) 1995 |
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| Germaine Richier (1902-1959) - Water 1953-54 |
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| Markus Lüpertz - Hölderin - 2011 |
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| Markus Lüpertz - Odalisque - 1993 |
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| Picasso - Glove composition - 1930 (August) |
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| Markus Lüpertz - Head of Paris - 2002 |
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| Etienne Martin (1913-1995) Foot, leg - 1990 |
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| Antony Gormley - Feeling Material lV - 2003 Has Gormley been influenced by Cragg or Rodin or both? |
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| Tony Cragg (1948-) Untitled 1996 |
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| William de Kooning (1904-97) Hostess -1973-79 |
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| Germaine Richier - Le Berger des Landes - 1951 |
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| Picasso - L'Homme au mouton -1943 |
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| Picasso - Homme debout - 1942 |
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| Henry Moore - Draped Torso - 1953 |
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| Cesar (1921-98) Torso - 1959 |
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| André Masson (1896-1987) Minotaure l (Le Grand) 1942 |
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| Jean-Paul Marcheschi (Bastia 1951-) L'Acrobate 2009 |
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| Rodin - Naked man carrying a child - around 1888 |
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| Rodin - Triple Portrait de Nouryé de Rohozinska - 1906 |
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| Paul Gaugin (1848-1903) T hree heads of Tahitiens 1901-03 |
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| Titled blurred again - sorry - I love the shadow on the wall... |
There are over 100 photos that I could add. Below a few of the better known perhpas?
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| Monument aux Bourgeois de Calais - 1889 The_Burghers_of_Calais |
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| The Kiss - 1881-1882 |
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| Les Sources taries - The dried up springs - before 1989 |
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| Study for the torso of the Man walking - 1878-1879 |
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| Woman squatting holding a stone - 1889 |
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| Psyché-Printemps - around 1886 |
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| La Douleur n° 2 - The Pain - around 1885 |
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| The Door of Hell - 1889-90 |
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| The Jongler and Acrobat - 1892? |
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| Le Penseur - 1903 |
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| The Fall of an Angel - arounf 1895 |
There are more photos - many more - but you too are probably at saturation point. After 3 hours I really wondered what I had seen. It is for that reason that all the artists are mixed up in this chapter: for diversity : to mix periods but most of all I hope - to see just how much Rodin has influenced artists of yesterday and today.
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