StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Era of Modern Art - Auguste Rodin - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "The Era of Modern Art  - Auguste Rodin" argues in a well-organized manner that artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gaugin, Camile Claudel, Auguste Rodin, Paul Cezanne are some of the artists of the modern era who marked their own names in the history of art. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.8% of users find it useful
The Era of Modern Art - Auguste Rodin
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Era of Modern Art - Auguste Rodin"

This paper talks about some of the works of Auguste Rodin in regards to their detailed compositions like texture, color, form, and material.

Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin was a French sculptor in the modern era who did not rebel against the past. Unlike other artists who deliberately changed their ways and created masterpieces that had undertones of mockery of the previous period, Rodin remained a traditional sculptor and took a craftsman-like approach to his works. He possessed a unique ability to work on complex materials. Most of his famous sculptures, departed from the traditional themes of mythology allegory, were criticized which made him become sensitive towards his critics. Nevertheless, he continued on his style, far away from the used-to-be thematic sculpture of the predominant figures of the past, and celebrated realism and individualism. As time went by, accompanied by a series of works, his stature in the artists' social ladder increased a few notches higher and gained increased favor from the government and the artists' community.

 

The Age of Bronze

One of Rodin's works that troubled the critics and enticed them to lambast him for not having a concrete theme was The Age of Bronze. Speculations were in the air that Rodin intentionally sculpted his work without a theme. But due to its realistic and lively figure, it gained the attention of many, which also fueled the critics to accuse him of surmoulage. He strongly denied the accusation and defended his work. He wrote and presented photographs of his model to newspapers to show how the sculpture differed.

The Age of Bronze became one of Rodin's most famous works due to the controversy it brought to the eyes of the critics. The intricacy of the details of a man's nude body, held an unconventional pose, was sculpted well-enough for it to look alive. It takes a genuinely brilliant artist to be able to sculpt a bronze material and still come up with a realistic form of a nude man. Tagged with perfect lights and shadows, they made the sculpture an intriguing work of art, which eventually led to being bought by the state. The sculpture was purchased for 2,200 francs. Rodin drew inspiration for his first full-scale sculpture from Michelangelo's Dying Slave and was shown at the Paris Salon in 1877. (Rilke & Rodin, 2004, 27)

St. John the Baptist Preaching

St. John the Baptist Preaching is Rodin's second full-scale work and again a nude man. Due to the charge of surmoulage for his previous work, he made his second piece bigger than a life-size statue. The statue gives an appeal that he is walking towards the audience while both feet are on the ground. The odd positions of Rodin's works became his signature. The peculiar sense of movement of Rodin's model was captured in his product.

 

Rodin's interpretation of St. John the Baptist is a man preaching while walking. Although it may appear that the stance of the man is a bit odd, since both feet are on the ground, it depicts a walk of a determined man, emotionally firmed on his preaching. Rodin later explained how he came up with the two phases of a stride in order to suggest a movement. It is evident in the sculpture that the man, St. John, is preaching to a group and his conviction is noticed. According to studies, the form of the model was excellently sculpted with an outstanding delivery of its message. The shadows on the ribs, the details on the facial expression, and the positioning of the muscles on the legs portray a man who gives a firm stance on his preaching. (Rilke & Rodin, 2004, 49)

Conclusion

In spite of Rodin's obsession with myths, he was able to give a fresher appeal to ancient art, which made him a progenitor of modern sculpture. His ability to create life-like sculptures and combine them with his technique of extreme physical states made him become a very important figure in the history of the art of the modern era. His technical skills and characteristics as someone who takes his audience to their boundaries make him a powerful artist of his time.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/other/1393485-art
(Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/other/1393485-art.
“Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/other/1393485-art.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Era of Modern Art - Auguste Rodin

Art in the Age of Revolution

Socialist Realism in Modern Art: In the field of modern art, the concept of Social Realism is conventionally linked with interwar American art.... There were two movements of modern art that could be associated with a left-wing character.... Popular artists like auguste rodin succeeded in initiating this heroicism in their works.... The mid nineteenth century school of French Realism was an introduction for numerous other movements of the modern art related to Realism that appeared later in the twentieth century....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Modern Artist - Constantin Brancusi

Due to his remarkable contribution to the field of sculpture making he is also called Patriarch of modern Sculpture.... He was also admired by the work of August rodin however, he was most interested in searching for pure form and in the end he succeeded to convey the sense of gravity through his work pieces making from few basic elements.... He has been regarded as the pioneer of modernist art and sculpturing.... The researcher of this paper aims to discover the art of Constantin Brancusi....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Emil Sodersten and Architecture

Emil Sodersten's professional life is associated with the architectural design style era of America and Europe where prevailing styles at that time were Modern and Art Deco.... modern movement in architectural design style was credited to those architects who had avant-garde ideas, and at the same time were able to articulate them....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper

Paintings in art history

The essay "Paintings in art history" explores the most famous paintings, movements, and artists in the context of art history.... This rebirth of art in Italy was brought about by increased awareness and different interpretations of classical knowledge, and a new repertoire of subjects for art.... Rembrandt van Rijin is noted for his transfiguration of experience into art.... It is his inner emotions as represented in his art that makes him unique....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Relationship Between Law and Families

Major theoretical approaches like feminist theory, the public-private divide and functionalist theory deserve analysis, but the most salient for modern circumstances is feminist theory, at least insofar as it recognizes gender differences and difficulties.... What if modern, postindustrial society is simply better suited to women?...
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Paintings From Impressionist and Post-impressionist Periods

he paintings from the post-impressionist periods that I would like to recommend are: The Yellow Christ, 1889 by Paul Gauguin; The Thinker by auguste rodin; The Château at Médan, 1880 by Paul Cézanne.... Impressionist artists painted the life issues of the period taking departure from the traditional art based on mythology and history.... Post-impressionist works did get influenced from the period that preceded it but did not abide by its limitations and went on adding emotions, I take this opportunity to recommend three pieces of art from Impressionism period that will surely embellish our corporate office and they are: Rouen Cathedral in Full Sunlight by Claude Monet; Gelée Blanche – Hoarfrost by Camille Pissarro; and Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge by Claude Monet....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Impressionism and Its Effect of the Development of Art

As a result, their paintings were a realistic reflection of modern life characterized by rich visual effects as opposed to details.... The essay explores impressionism and it's effect of the development of art.... Initially, the Impressionism art movement started in the 19th century as a group France artists.... This paper analyzes impressionism and its impact in the context of art history.... The essay "Impressionism and Its Effect of the Development of art" discovers impressionism and it's effect of art development....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Representation of Women

It would be more obvious to analyze the 1990ies on the matter of restriction of women in their career rising, but it sounds even stranger to talk about the glass ceiling effect in a modern liberal era.... This paper "Representation of Women" discusses the issue of the wage gap that has been raised since women and men gained equal rights....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us