Art History for Dummies 101: Walk through the Gates of Hell

If you know of the gates stated in my title I applaud you. And then you know of course of the master, Auguste Rodin. I have about 7 pages in my notebook filled with just him, so allow me to spill them onto you in hopes that you fall in love as I have...

Rodin is the father of modern sculpture. I don't say "WAS" because he is still looked up to, and is still an inspiring artist. And the time Rodin became important was when the idea of sculpture began to change...

Born in the city of Paris, in November of the year 1849 on a very poor street in a very poor neighborhood. Working class. He is a very poor man. At the age of 13 he showed interest in drawing and art, at 14 he enrolled into the petite ecole where he then applied to the grande ecole and was rejected 3 times. He was finally accepted based on his drawings.

Man with broken nose/Mask of a man with a broken nose
Rodin

Rodin began the "mask of a man..." as a simple bust, Greek style, very academic, and durning this process he was in the search of someone to work for him. He came across an old workman who went by the name "Monsieur Bibi". M. Bibi would occasionally sit for Rodin, and it is to be thought that the "mask" was of Bibi. Well, one night it became terribly cold, and the clay froze and the back of the head broke off. Rodin loved it, so he submitted it to the Salon, well needless to say, it was rejected by the lot. It was said to be "flashy" and "aggressive". With this Rodin was discouraged and he begins to work on a much larger scale.

Bacchante- Rodin

Rodin never finished "Bacchante", and it is believed that the model for it was Rose Becket...who apparently Rodin was unable to get rid of. For a grand total of 50 years. They had a son together, though Rodin never really accepted the fact that the boy was his(what a man ;) Another piece Rose may have modeled for :

Mignon (sometimes shown with a hat)
Rodin

Rodin later begins working with ALbert Carrier-Belleuge, a very successful artist mainly with sculpture, and architectural ornamentation. Rodin becomes a full time practician with Carrier-Belleuge, who was the first to keep a studio just for creating copies. He was a very 'workman/practician' type person. And was very important to Rodin...

A monumental point in Rodin's career, and sculpture in general, was between 1870 and 1871, the Franco/Prussian war, and the Paris Commune

The Germans try to get France all fired up, and angry, so before long, France declares war on Germany. Oops on them, because Germany was prepared to fight, and France...was not. They were defeated. Germany wins parts of France. Well, the left and right sides of Paris went into a Civil war and then the 3rd Republic was born. This changed everything.

Rodin went to Brussels along with Carrier-Belleuge...as well as many other artists during this war in Paris. In 1872 Rodin submits a version of "Man with Broken Nose" to the Salon in Brussels. No one really cares. it's overlooked and in 1875 he submits it to paris entitled "Portrait de M. B..." with this very ambiguous name people begin to say things about it. People begin questioning who "M. B..." is, some say it's Bibi, others say it stands for Michelangelo Buonarroti.

In 1876 he travels to Italy, the Medici chapel in Florence is his main destination. In the Medici chapel he finds a new language to the body, he gets more comfortable with the way he sees the body, and he begins to change the way he works...

Michelangelo really changed his way of thinking, Rodin said- "Michelangelo changed him and awakened him"

Rodin comes back to Paris and begins his first full sized sculpture for the Salon. The Age of Bronze.

The Age of Bronze- Rodin

He exhibits this piece in the salon, and it doesn't get much said about it, other than accusations that Rodin took a live cast (casting a piece straight from the model instead of sculpting it by hand) and that it was simply not art. Outraged by this, he had many of his friends send letters explaining that this WAS a sculpted piece, and Rodin sent many photos showing the difference between the model and the finished piece. So the ordeal was swept under the rug, and the state bought it, and had it cast in bronze. When you view this piece, you can see the little bits of where Rodin cut the clay, and how uneven the flesh is. You can SEE where he worked. It is no illusion of a human, it is made from hands, out of clay, and cast in bronze. You can see the imperfections, and where exactly where his hands were. Which just makes my heart flutter.

John the Baptist Preaching- Rodin

When Rodin exhibits "John the Baptist" people really just talk about how boring, ugly, and emotionless it is. And frankly, it's not my favourite Rodin piece...

He then later takes off the head, and arms of "John", he removes, and reattaches bits and bobs from the body, and names this new piece "The Walking Man"

The Walking Man-Rodin

This piece, IS however one of my favourites. The idea of using, and reusing a piece, and a sculpture being alive, and able to change, it's just refreshing and beautiful.

And this brings me to perhaps one of the most important sculptures in the 19th century. The Gates of Hell.

The Gates of Hell-Rodin

I hesitate to put a picture of the Gates, because this piece is unlike any other. I'll start from the beginning though, and revisit this idea... Rodin was asked to create the doors to a new museum. The Museum of Decorative art. A museum which was never built. The commission was for little money, but it did get him a studio and supplies from the state. Rodin wanted to show Dante's Inferno, to which he later felt was too restrictive, so he included Baudelaire's "les fleurs du mal" (The flowers of Evil) The doors were draped in darkness.

This piece is very hard to understand where he truly ended it, and it's not even known if he was actually done when he died. Rodin made the doors, and as it was covered in mini sculptures, he would remove them, and change the order. He would also exhibit them separately as works on their own.

Figures from "The Gates"

The Shades
The Shade
The Thinker

(I'll post photos of the separate sculptures at the end)

"The Thinker" has to be one of the most well known, and mass produced pieces from the doors. It's everywhere from parks, to coffee mugs, t-shirts, and countless reproductions all around the world. Though, if you're like me, you never really put too much thought as to where it came from, it just was, and will always be. But it is said to depict Dante. or, Rodin himself. There is a very close relationship between "The Thinker" and Rodin, it represents the idea, the act of thinking. It's very melancholy, dark, and intense. The thinker is also related to Michelangelo's Lorenzo from the Medici Chapel.

Basically..

Rodin = Michelangelo

Thinker = Lorenzo

That's all the Rodin. FOR NOW! mwuahahaha sometime in the coming week I'll post the rest.

Below are some photos...