The Kiss: Power, Seduction and Perfection in Rodins Masterpiece 19th Century Sculpture - Research Paper Example

The Kiss: Power, Seduction and Perfection in Rodin’s Masterpiece 19th Century Sculpture Rodin is famous for his ability to communicate powerfully through sculpture; “The Thinker” for instance, is one of the most famous sculptures in the world (Hale 13), so much so that its pose has entered the common lexicon in a variety of ways. A somewhat lesser known work of Rodin’s, “The Kiss,” completed in 1882 (Irvine), also demonstrates Rodin’s ability to communicate fluently through static sculpture. In order to understand the sculpture, it can be helpful to know something of its background. Rodin first generated the idea for this sculpture while creating a relief for another sculpture, the gates of hell (Smith). The Kiss was originally supposed to depict an Italian noblewoman, who was featured prominently in Dante’s Inferno, name Francesca di Rimi. Francesca was in hell for falling in love with her husband’s brother, and eventually succumbing to physical passion with him as well (Smith). Rodin originally wanted to use this as the name of the sculpture as well, before eventually settling on a much more general title in “The Kiss.” This more generalized title helps emphasize that Rodin wanted the messaging contained within the sculpture to be able to be generalized. The most prominent aspect of the form of the sculpture “The Kiss” is perfection: both people are highly idealized in nearly every way, while the content communicates interesting things about the role of gender in sexuality and power, and, to a certain extent, inverts ‘traditional’ gender roles in the expression of passion and sexuality. The first thing that becomes apparent when viewing the sculpture of “The Kiss” is that both figures depicted in it are highly idealized, especially when taken in ideals of Rodin’s time. The man has large, muscular frame narrowing to a narrow waist, while the woman has an hourglass physique, pleasing breasts and smooth, shapely legs. The man’s muscles are tensed, demonstrating further his fulfillment of the masculine ideals of strength and ability, and also showing off his tone and mass for all to see. The woman’s figure is especially idealized considering the sensibilities of the late nineteenth century, where idealized women tended to have more fat on them than the modern, ultra-thin ideal. The perfection of the two forms is further enhanced by the pedestal they sit on – a roughly hewed stone, with a grainy texture and uneven appearance. The grainy texture contrasts sharply with the shapely figure of the two figures sitting upon it, and its roughly hewn appearance emphasizes the beauty of those figures further. While perfection, and idealized appearance is probably the most prominent aspect of the form of the work, there are more subtle aspects of it that might in fact be more important. One is body position. The man sits relatively erect, with a straight back, almost leaning away from the woman who kisses him, only tilting his head to facilitate the interaction. The two figures arms make nearly parallel lines with each other, contrasting with the way their legs lock and intermingle, which creates an interesting visual contrast along with possibly bearing symbolic meaning about the nature of love (which involves both parallel and perpendicular movement – growing together, while simultaneously pushing against one another). Finally, the tangle of legs distorts where one figure ends and another begins; when looking at any particular foot it takes a moment to realize which figure it probably belongs to. The content and meaning of the sculpture is very closely related to its form. Firstly, body position plays one of the most important roles in establishing meaning. As mentioned previously, the two figures have a very interesting posture: the man erect, almost leaned back, with the woman leaning forwards. In many ways this body posture seems to uphold traditional gender roles and expectations: the man, staying in a higher position, retains power and influence, while the woman, in the lower position, is more submissive. A closer analysis, however, will demonstrate that there are several aspects of this work that actually subvert those traditional roles and expectations. While the man certainly retains the higher position – his head is above the woman’s, and he has to crane down with his neck to kiss her, he is also in a substantially more passive position than his female counterpart. His hand, for instance, rests idly on his partner’s thigh, giving no indication of movement or control, but merely seeming to be a comfortable place to rest it. If the woman were removed from this sculpture, the man could, for the most part, simply be sitting comfortably. The woman, however, maintains an incredibly active pose. The whole form of her body speaks to activity: her toes, pointed downwards with the downward push of her legs, her torso twisted and contorted to reach her goal, her shoulders leaning in and her arms drawing her lover closer to herself. This activity, compared to the inactivity of the man, somewhat inverts what may be described as traditional gender roles, especially as associated with power. Activity is often the fundamental aspect of power, which is why things like agency are so often focused on in literature studies, so the woman in this figure, by striking such a more active pose than the man, indicates her greater power. Furthermore, she uses her power to achieve her goals. There is little indication of the man’s desire for this kiss: he may be interested, or he may not. But the woman seems able to get her kiss regardless of the man’s inclination: she uses her arm to control his head, to bring him to her. Clearly this work creates a power relationship that somewhat inverts traditional gender roles, showing the woman as the locus of activity and control. The man’s position as being larger, broader, more upright, and therefore higher than his female counterpart, does not transfer to power in this sculpture. On the contrary, the woman, through her activity and willingness to exert her own power, captures the attention and the action in this sculpture, showing a counterargument to what would have been traditional gender roles in Rodin’s time. This activity imbalance does not only invert traditional roles as they relate to power, but also as they relate to sexuality. Men are often seen as the initiators of sexual activity, as having the greater desire for sexual activity, and having the greatest ability to bring it about should they want it. But clearly, in the case of this sculpture, the woman is at least as sexually interested in the activity as the man is, as demonstrated by her far more active pose. She seems to have a genuine desire for the kiss, and will do whatever she can to achieve it. This serves to affirm women’s roles as active members of a sexual partnership, rather than merely a passive participant or receiver of men’s sexual activity. It highlights female eroticism, and feminine desire for sexual activity, something that would probably have been somewhat scandalous in the time of this sculpture’s completion, in the heart of the Victorian Era near the close of the 19th century, when sexuality, and women’s role in sexuality especially, was heavily regulated and controlled by a wide variety of societal forces. Like any good piece of art, the form and content of “The Kiss,” a sculpture by Rodin, are very closely linked. The form shows to highly idealized figures, which highlights the eroticism of the scene along with possibly exulting it as an ideal to be achieved, and the body positions of both partners are highly telling, not to mention visually striking. But a close analysis shows that Rodin’s work might be interpreted as a subtle critique of traditional gender roles in his time, which would have put the locus of power and sexual prowess entirely with men. Instead, Rodin shows a powerful and highly erotic woman, who dominates the composition of the sculpture, not to mention physically controlling the actions of her partner through her highly active, energetic frame. Hale, William Harlan. The World of Rodin 1840–1917. New York: Time-Life Library of Art, 1969. Irvine, Robert. “Rodin’s Kiss Sculpture” Vibrationdata.com. 2011. Smith, Alexander. “Rodin’s Famous Sculpture – the Kiss.” Statute.com. 2008. Read More