Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin (born François Auguste René Rodin; November 12, 1840 – November 17, 1917) was a French artist, most famous as a sculptor, but also a painter and printmaker. He was the preeminent French sculptor of his time, and remains one of the few sculptors with broad name recognition outside the visual arts community. Sculpturally, he possessed a unique ability to organize a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed clay surface.

In late nineteenth-century Paris, Rodin played a pivotal role in redefining sculpture. The predominant figure sculpture tradition of the time required an almost formulaic approach, and most sculpture was either decorative or highly thematic. Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, modelled the human body with high realism, and celebrated individual character and physicality. Although Rodin is considered the progenitor of modern sculpture,[1] he did not set out to rebel against tradition. He was schooled traditionally in Paris's École des Beaux-Arts system, and desired academic recognition.[2]

Many of his most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime, from the surprising realism of his first major figure, The Age of Bronze, to the unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought. Rodin was sensitive to the controversy, but did not change his style, and successive works brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community. By 1900, Rodin was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought his work, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. His sculpture suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades his legacy solidified: he was the man who revitalized sculpture after centuries of stasis.