Auguste Rodin: A Grand Master Sculptor With A Relationship Dilemma

Sculptor Francois Auguste Rodin converted his modest classical training with modeled clay into life. He became renowned for shaping complex and turbulent human figures into naturalistic sculptures. The definition and contouring accentuated his subject matter’s physicality. His style became so pronounced and distinctive that he could only be admired, jealously criticized or poorly replicated.
Inspired by a liberating 1875 voyage to Italy, his naturalist style would elevated him into France’s preeminent sculptor of the era. His public commissions would crown him a distinctive niche in posterity, but not without controversy. He refused to modify or compromise his personal vision for changes in fashion.
His best known works include: The Thinker, Monument to Balzac, The Kiss, The Burghers of Calais and The Gates of Hell. With his eventual commercial acceptance, his resulting career productivity would become staggering.
For twenty years, he labored as a craftsman and ornament designer fabricating architectural objects and embellishments. He drifted to Belgium at the invitation of a colleague for six years where he further honed his skills and experience. He labored on the ornamentation for the Brussels Stock Exchange building.
The signature Rodin styling continued to evolve and earn recognition and public commissions. His submissions were no longer ignored. As his reputation soared, his private life underwent greater scrutiny until it detonated into a public scandal. He was torn between his common law wife Rose and the talented artist Camille Claudel. The severing of their relationship drove Claudel into madness.
The former Hotel Biron, one of his leased gallery spaces, would officially become the Rodin Museum in 1919. Several of Rodin’s largest and most revered works are displayed on the grounds within a complimenting natural environment.