Drawn from one of the world's most comprehensive collections of sculptures by Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), this traveling exhibition of sixty-two bronzes is the first major exhibition in Connecticut of works by the French master.
Rodin was able to create major public sculptures such as The Monument to the Burghers of Calais (1884–1895) and The Monument to Balzac (1891–1898) that directly communicated a human quality without seeming academic or pedantic. His famous works The Kiss (c. 1881–1882), The Thinker (1880), and the intertwined hands known as The Cathedral (1908) show the sculptor's exploration of the expressive potential of the human face and body—be it fragmented or whole—arranged in compositions of single or multiple figures.
Rodin cast his most important compositions in bronze and to ensure that this process would continue after his death, he donated his entire estate to the French government. Today this collection belongs to the Musée Rodin, Paris, which continues to produce a limited number of casts of his work. Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession features a series of plaster models that explain the lost-wax casting process as well as an instructive video that demonstrates the making of Rodin's monumental The Gates of Hell (1880–c.1900).
The exhibition is rounded out by a section devoted to portraits of Rodin created by his contemporaries, such as the American photographer Edward Steichen's 1902 silver print Portrait of Rodin with The Thinker and The Monument to Victor Hugo, which reminds us of the sculptor's impact upon his contemporaries.
Funders
This exhibition has been organized and made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.
Presenting Sponsorship provided by The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation.
Lead Sponsorship provided by Genomas, Inc., The Hand Center: Drs. Watson, Ashmead & Mastella, The David T. Langrock Foundation, and the New Alliance Foundation.
Major Support provided by The Friends of Rodin: The William O. and Carole P. Bailey Exhibition Fund, Coleman H. and Jo Champlin Casey, The Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation, Inc., The Rhoda and David Chase Family Foundation, Inc., Linda Cheverton Wick and Walter Wick, Mary and David W. Dangremond, Mimi and Jack Davis, Mr. and Mrs. Victor J. Dowling, Sr., Dr. and Mrs. Anthony A. Ferrante, Barbara L. Flynn, Mary P. and John M. Gibbons, Kimberly and Fred Krieble, Janet and Christopher Larsen, James B. Lyon, Agnes S. and William R. Peelle, Jr., Claire M. Pryor, Susan J. and Joseph B. Sappington, Robin and Philip Schonberger, and Remy and Hy Schwartz.
Media sponsorship provided by ctnow.com.
Supported in part by the Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign and by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
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