Rodin

Description

Rodin, the first monograph from the Musee Rodin, with an authoritative foreword from its director, is written by the exceptional museum's leading experts, who have priviledged access to the great works and little-known archival material in Paris and around the world. Rodin created much controversy in his lifetime (1840-1917); his sculptures met with adoration from the avant-garde and criticism from the conservatives. Today he is revered as an outstanding sculptor and a forward thinker whose expressive style foreshadowed modernism and abstract sculpture. All facets of the artist's life and art are explored in this work, from the artistic context of the day to the intriguing stories behind such major works as The Gates of Hell, and from Rodin's relationship with Camille Claudel to his sources of inspiration, which include dance, eroticism, and poetry. Personal insights from those in Rodin's artistic circle offer unprecedented access into his many studios and insight into the master's studies of his key works. Photographs commissioned especially for this major publication combine with archival documents to illustrate the master's rich artistic treasury that includes his unparalleled sculptures, as well as drawings, engravings, paintings, and watercolors. Rodin includes a full listing of the international museums dedicated to his incomparable art as well as a detailed chronology and bibliography.

Raphael Masson is chief librarian at the Musee Rodin. Veronique Mattiussi is an archivist at the Musee Rodin. Jacques Vilain is director of the Musee Rodin. He has published a number of works on the museum's collections.

"Informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, exceptionally well organized and presented, inherently fascination and consistently compelling from beginning to end, "Rodin" is a work of seminal and meticulous scholarship and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university Art History collections in general, and Auguste Rodin supplemental studies reading lists in particular." -Midwest Book Review "...Rodin is a beautiful book, and it ranges far afield for images of Rodin's great treasury of works. It also provides tantalizing glimpses into how the artist saw himself and how he did his work." -Chicago Tribune "In the event you can't hop on an airplane and visit the Musee Rodin in Paris, this definitive monograph is definitely the next best thing. Few people will argue with the claim that Auguste Rodin is one of the greatest sculptors who's ever lived. His expressive, wholly unique style, which blurs the line between modernist and abstract sculpture, birthed a shocking amount of celebrated works throughout his lifetime, including The Kiss, The Thinker, and The Gates of Hell. This richly illustrated monograph does a deep dive into Rodin's life and work, which during his lifetime, was often the subject of controversy." -Interview Magazine "