Auguste rodin biography sculpture house


Musée Rodin

Paris museum dedicated primarily to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin

For the museum in Philadelphia, see Rodin Museum.

The Musée Rodin (English: Rodin Museum) of Paris, France, is an art museum that was opened in , primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in primary Paris, as well as just outside Paris at Rodin's vintage home, the Villa des Brillants at Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine. The collection includes 6, sculptures, 8, drawings, 8, old photographs and 7, objets d'art.

The museum receives , visitors annually.

While living in the Villa des Brillants, Rodin used the Hôtel Biron as his workshop from , and subsequently donated his entire collection of sculptures &#; along with paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that he had acquired &#; to the French Mention on the condition that they turn the buildings into a museum dedicated to his works.

The Musée Rodin contains most of Rodin's significant creations, including The Thinker, The Kiss and The Gates of Hell.[1] Many of his sculptures are displayed in the museum's extensive garden.

The museum includes a room dedicated to the works of Camille Claudel and one of the two castings of The Mature Age.

The gardens around the museum building contain many of the famous sculptures in natural settings. Behind the museum building are a small lake and casual restaurant.

Additionally, the nearby Métro stop, Varenne, features some of Rodin's sculptures on the platform. The building is served by Métro (Line 13), RER (Line C: Invalides) and bus (69, 82, 87, 92).

Auguste Rodin - Wikipedia: François Auguste René Rodin (/ r oʊ ˈ d æ n /; [1] French: [fʁɑ̃swa oɡyst ʁəne ʁɔdɛ̃]; 12 November – 17 November ) was a French sculptor [2] generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. [3].

Permanent collections

Sculptures

Rodin's sculptures are the work of an creator who chose to defy the norms of his time. Among the works of his youth, Man with a Broken Nose appears out of step with contemporary aesthetic norms, while The Age of Bronze rejects contemporary mechanisms of physical expression.

This absence of artifice, like the nudity of The Thinker or Adam and Eve guarantees the timelessness of Rodin's works.

The artist also stands out by the monumental aspect of some of his works: Balzac, The Burghers of Calais or the impressive, unfinished The Gates of Hell, which contains many elements representing the major works of Rodin (The Thinker, Ugolino, The Kiss or the Three Shades).

Auguste Rodin was a sculptor whose work had a giant influence on modern art. Unlike many famous artists, Rodin didn't become widely established until he was in his 40s. Developing his creative.

Drawings

The graphic collection at the Musée Rodin contains around 7, drawings. They can be associated with different styles and periods: observation of landscapes, fantasy works inspired by Dante or Baudelaire, numerous erotic nudes or even portraits.

Photography

The Musée Rodin preserves an important collection of 25, photographs. Among these, 7, were collected by Rodin himself. The artist showed indeed a great interest for this science and art, and he has collaborated with many photographers, such as Eugène Druet, Jacques-Ernest Bulloz, Adolphe Braun or Edward Steichen.

Subjects and themes are varied, Rodin's personal albums attest to his centres of interest and artistic sources, while the portraits and newspaper photographs illustrate his work and his being. Above all, these photographs are a great source to understand what happened in the studio between and Rodin's death, in

Camille Claudel room

The Camille Claudel room contains such Claudel works as the casting of The Mature Age (), The Wave (), The Waltz, Sakountala (), and an casting of Bust of Rodin (–89).

Claudel, a student and model for Rodin, and soon his collaborator, associate, and lover, worked with Rodin from until the early s. They kept in close contact until

Rodin as a collector

During the twenty last years of his life, as he was living in Meudon, Rodin started a collection of ancient works of art from Egypt, Greece and Rome, then later from the Far East.

As the collection was growing, the other pieces invaded the studio and his house, replacing the casts after Antique statues. As Rodin's fame grew, the commissions he received enabled him to last his collection, reaching over works in

In addition, Rodin's friendships and tastes led him to surrounding himself with works by the Naturalists (Théodule Ribot, Alfred Roll) and Symbolists (Eugène Carrière, Charles Cottet).

Auguste Rodin was a sculptor whose work had a huge influence on current art. Unlike many famous artists, Rodin didn't become widely established until he was in his 40s. Developing his creative talents during his teens, Rodin later worked in the decorative arts for nearly two decades. He eventually sculpted the controversial piece "The Vanquished" renamed "The Age of Bronze"exhibited in

Through a series of exchanges made with his artists friends, Rodin owned works of art from Jules Dalou, Alexandre Falguière or Jean-Paul Laurens. He also realised vital purchases: three Van Gogh's (including Père Tanguy, late ), Renoir's Nude in the Sunlight and Monet's Belle-Île.

Temporary exhibitions

Temporary exhibitions dedicated to Rodin

  • La sculpture dans l’espace, Rodin, Brâncuși, Giacometti (November –February ): 82, visitors
  • Rodin et les danseuses cambodgiennes, sa dernière passion (June –September ): 91, visitors
  • Rodin, les figures d’Eros (November –March ): 84, visitors
  • Camille Claudel, une femme, une artiste (April –July ): , visitors
  • La Desire à l’œuvre, Rodin et Freud, collectionneurs (October –February )
  • Corps et décors.

    Rodin et les arts décoratifs (April –August )

  • Rodin.

    Auguste Rodin achieved the reputation of the father of modern sculpture with his iconic and strong bronze portraits.

    Laboratoire de la création (November –September )

Contemporary art exhibitions

Recently[when?], contemporary art exhibitions are also organized, as it was done as early as when the first Salon de la jeune sculpture took place at the Musée Rodin.

Artists such as Anthony Caro, Eugène Dodeigne, Étienne Bossut exhibited at the museum. Bill Viola, Adel Abdessemed and Mircea Cantor have been invited to screen videos in the park for the «&#;Nuit des musées&#;». In , artworks by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye were exhibited, as well as a program of video-performances by artists such as Vito Acconci, Sanja Iveković, Marina Abramović and Mona Hatoum.

A Henry Moore exhibition, dedicated to his studio and small sculptures, ran there from October to February

Museum locations

Hôtel Biron, Paris

First opened to the public on 4 August , the Musée Rodin was housed in a mansion, formerly called the Hôtel Peyrenc de Moras, designed with the lines of classical architecture and ornamented with rocaille decoration.

It was built in the Rue de Varenne, between and From , the Hôtel was occupied by a series of owners and tenants. In , the Duchess of Charost sold the entire property to three nuns belonging to a religious congregation, the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

A boarding university for girls was opened and the decorations were progressively sold.

Auguste Rodin, born on November 12,in Paris, grew up in a modest family that had no artistic aspirations. Despite his father's opposition, Rodin enrolled in the School of Mathematics and Drawing inwhere he received direction from the renowned teacher Lecoq de Boisbaudran, who emphasized drawing from memory. Inhe presented the "Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose" at the Salon, marking a significant departure from traditional sculpture. Depicting an aged, unattractive man with a disfigured nose, the mask elicited controversy for its unconventional depiction of human features.

Between and , several buildings were designed on the estate, the Chapel in particular, designed by the architect Jean Juste Gustave Lisch and achieved in

The Community was dissolved in due to the 'religious orders' law involving the separation of church and state which prohibited religious orders from teaching.

The sisters were evicted and the estate was put up for sale. Awaiting a buyer, tenants were allowed to occupy the building; among them were Jean Cocteau, Henri Matisse, Isadora Duncan and Rainer Maria Rilke, whose future wife Clara Westhoff was living in the Hôtel and was the first to tell Rodin about the estate.

In , the sculptor rented four ground-floor rooms to use as his studios. From onwards, he occupied the whole building. In , as the French state had pledged itself to purchasing the Hôtel Biron, Rodin started to negotiate with it.

Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, and deeply pocketed surface in clay. Many of Rodin's most notable sculptures were criticized, as they clashed with predominant figurative sculpture traditions in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic. Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory. He modeled the human body with naturalism, and his sculptures celebrate individual character and physicality.

The artist announced officially his intention to donate all his works to the French express, as well as his drawings and his collection of antiquities in the condition that the State keeps all these collections at the Hôtel Biron, which will become the Musée Rodin in exchange of the right to reside there all his life.

In , the French Assembly passed a law permitting the State to accept the donations and allocated the mansion and its garden to a museum. Léonce Bénédite was appointed executor of the sculptor's will: his tasks were to operate Rodin's artistic heritage and to supervise the organisation of the future museum.

Listed as a historical monument in , the Hôtel Biron and its grounds have since undergone major renovation and restoration work, to improved assert their role as a museum. The most recent scheme was the restoration which began in and was completed by 12 November , Rodin's th birthday.

Rodin's "The Thinker" is one of the best-known sculptures of all time. Auguste Rodin born Francois Auguste Rene Rodin; November 12, —November 17, was a French artist and sculptor whose broke away from academic tradition in order to infuse emotion and character into his work. His most famous sculpture, "The Thinker," is one of the best-known sculptures of all time. Born into a working-class family in Paris, Auguste Rodin began drawing at age

The renovations cost 16 million euro ($ million), and were hailed as a "moral duty" by France's Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin.[2]

Musée Rodin in Meudon

On December 19, , Rodin purchased a Louis XIII-style house in brick and stone, built on the heights of Meudon and called "La Villa des Brillants".

In , almost 50 people, including sculptor's assistants, workers and casters, were employed there by Rodin and, although he continued to move to his Paris studios daily, his major creative work was done in Meudon. The place became soon a major place of attraction for friends, admirers or celebrities from France or abroad.

It is also in Meudon that Rodin and his wife, Rose Beuret, have chosen to be buried.

After the death of Rodin, the villa and the studio also became a museum, open three days per week. Visitors can unearth the atmosphere of the studio and the place where Rodin liked to live and operate.

Inaugurated in , the museum also permits to glimpse numerous plasters, including casts for Rodin's monumental works, such as the Burghers of Calais and the Gates of Hell which permit to discover the different steps of the creative process.

Gallery of sculptures

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Chevillot, Catherine; Marraud, Hélène; and Pinet, Hélène () Rodin: The Laboratory of Creation.

    Translated by John Adamson. Dijon: Éditions Faton. ISBN&#;

External links