Rodin's Obsession, The Gates of Hell
Selections from the
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection
October 2 - December 14, 2001
Emily Lowe Gallery
This exhibition focuses on the figures included in Auguste Rodin's (French, 1840-1917) monumental work The Gates of Hell. Many of the figures were exhibited independently as freestanding sculptures, such as The Thinker (below) and The Kiss (right). The exhibition also includes a display illustrating the lost-wax casting process and a video detailing the bronze casting of The Gates of Hell.
In 1880 Rodin was awarded the commission to complete a "decorative portal" for a proposed museum of decorative arts. The subject of the great doors was drawn from The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) and was undoubtedly chosen by Rodin himself. As Rodin's ideas developed he gradually abandoned the concept of correlating his sculpture to specific narratives from The Inferno. Instead he moved toward a more general depiction of mankind's suffering and search for redemption. Rodin created a complex composition in which hundreds of figures, modeled in high relief and in the round, float and weave in a surging arrangement conveying the suffering of mankind.
At the height of his career, Rodin was regarded as the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo. Straying from 19th-century academic conventions, Rodin created his own sense of personal artistic expression that focused on the vitality of the human spirit. His vigorous modeling technique was subjective and impressionistic; he captured movement and depth of emotion by altering traditional poses and gestures. His pioneering work has been a critical link between traditional and modern figurative sculpture.
Additional web resources:
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, California
Rodin Museum of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California
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