"Rodin 100" Exhibitions and Programs at 14 North American Museums Celebrate French Sculptor's Centenary
Rodin 100
1917–2017
FRENCH SCULPTOR AUGUSTE RODIN CENTENARY CELEBRATED IN NORTH AMERICA
WITH EXHIBITIONS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
-#Rodin100 is Hashtag for This Initiative-
In France and Europe
The centenary is being commemorated at the Musée Rodin as well as other European institutions.
More information is at www.Rodin100.org.
Exhibitions in North America
Rodin: The Human Experience—Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collections
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, January 21–April 16, 2017
Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI, May 6–July 30, 2017
Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA,September 1, 2017–January 7, 2018*
The Kiss
Rodin Museum, Philadelphia, PA, February 1, 2017–January 2019
Rodin: Portraits of a Lifetime—Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collections
The Pauly Friedman Art Gallery, Misericordia University, Dallas, PA, September 9–December 9, 2017
Auguste Rodin: The Centenary Installation
Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA, January 28–December 31, 2017
To further commemorate the Rodin centenary, the Fine Arts Museums have invited international artists Urs Fischer and Sarah Lucas to conceive installations combining new and existing works in dialogue with the museums' Rodin holdings that explore underappreciated dimensions of Rodin's work. Another exhibition presents a unique dialogue between the masterpieces of Rodin and the work of the great fin de siècle Austrian master of modernism, Gustav Klimt, in Gustav Klimt and Auguste Rodin: A Turning Point.
Urs Fischer: April 22–July 9, 2017
Sarah Lucas: July 15–September 24, 2017
Gustav Klimt and Auguste Rodin: A Turning Point: October 14, 2017–January 28, 2018
Kiefer Rodin
The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, PA, November 17, 2017–February 12, 2018
With over 100 works, the exhibition includes several of Kiefer's large-scale illustrated books made in homage to Rodin and using such materials as plaster; large paintings; and vitrines filled with assorted objects including molds, dried plants, stones, and pieces of fabric; as well as sculptures and drawings by Rodin, some displayed in the United States for the first time. The contrast of Rodin's work with Kiefer's emphasizes Rodin's modernity and his proximity to contemporary practice. Opening at the Musée Rodin in Paris (March 14–October 22, 2017), the exhibition travels to the Barnes in time to mark the centenary of Rodin's death.
Rodin at The Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, September 5, 2017–January 15, 2018
The extraordinary range of The Met's holdings of Rodin's work is also highlighted in a related focus exhibition, Rodin on Paper, a selection of Rodin's drawings, prints, letters, and illustrated books, as well as photographs by Edward Steichen of the master sculptor and his art.
Eve through the Glance of Art
Museo Soumaya, Mexico City, Mexico, November 17, 2017–April 2018
Permanent Collection Installations/Promotions
The Cleveland Museum of Art, OH
Rodin: Master of Modern Sculpture
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), CA
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
In 1912, The Met opened a gallery dedicated to Rodin's sculptures and drawings, the first at the museum devoted exclusively to the work of a living artist. Displayed in that gallery were almost 30 sculptures, and by 1913, 14 drawings and watercolors. At this time Rodin wrote to the museum's director, Andrew Robinson, describing how happy it made him to augment the museum's collections, knowing how tastefully the gallery was arranged. In the late 20th century, the historic core of The Met's Rodin collection was magnificently enhanced by Iris and B. Gerald Cantor and their Foundation's gifts of over 30 sculptures, many of them posthumous editions authorized by the artist, as well as funding for a new gallery in which to display the collection. Today, The Met's holdings of Rodin's art are among the largest in the United States. Their strength lies in their breadth and depth, and their capacity to unite Rodin's lifetime achievement with his enduring sculptural legacy.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Boston played an important role in the collecting of Rodin's work in America during the sculptor's lifetime. The MFA acquired its first piece in 1906 and the collection has grown to include 19 sculptures in marble and bronze, 12 prints, and four drawings. Four of the most distinguished sculptures in the collection are on view in the galleries, three of which were already at the MFA by the time of Rodin's death in 1917. These are Ceres (marble; carved in 1896; acquired in 1906); Psyche (marble; carved in 1899; acquired directly from Rodin's exhibition of 1900 at the Pavilion d'Alma by the historian and writer Henry Adams for his niece Louisa Hooper and on loan to the MFA from 1904 until its acquisition in 1975); Bust of Jules Dalou (bronze; modeled in 1883; cast around 1889; bought in 1912 by the MFA directly from the artist after its exhibition at the museum that year); and Eternal Springtime (bronze; modeled in 1881; cast in 1916 or 1917 by Rodin for his young cousin Henriette Coltat; acquired in 1993).
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
The National Gallery of Art, Washington, holds one of the largest collections of works in marble, clay, plaster, and bronze created by Rodin during his lifetime, some 30 of which are currently on view. The collection's core was formed by a gift in 1942 to the newly opened Gallery from the artist's patron, promoter, and friend Kate Simpson. After this American collector decided to close her home in New York City, she chose to give her entire collection of Rodin works—all acquired during the sculptor's lifetime—to the Gallery so that they could remain together. Included in the gift were bronze examples of the iconic works The Thinker (model 1880, cast 1901), The Kiss (model 1880–1887, cast c. 1898/1902), and Head of Balzac (model 1897).
Additional highlights of the Gallery's collection of Rodin include a full-size plaster cast of the artist's first recognized masterpiece, The Age of Bronze (model 1875–1876, cast 1898); a moving plaster bust of Jean d'Aire (model 1884–1889, cast probably early 20th century) as well as a bronze reduction of the complete figure of Jean d'Aire from the self-sacrificing group portrayed in The Burghers of Calais (model 1884–1889, reduction cast probably 1895); and studies and works on paper. The most recent addition to the collection is the marble Eve (model c. 1881, carved 1890/1891), acquired in 2014 as part of the Corcoran Collection.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
Rodin's The Thinker is the beloved centerpiece of the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. It is being celebrated during Kansas City's Big Picnic, a massive annual gathering on Sunday, July 23, that stretches from the museum's 22-acre campus across the street to Kansas City's Theis Park. The picnic is a joint project between the museum and the city. The promotion includes a social media contest challenging visitors to strike their best "thinking" pose.
The Nelson-Atkins holds four works by Rodin, including two drawings, the small wax figure Study of a Seated Man (possibly for "The Sailor"), and the powerful Adam, a bronze sculpture that is on permanent view in the museum's sculpture hall. With its twisting torso, bent knee, and obliquely crossed arm, the sculpture depicts Adam from the Old Testament at the moment of his creation.
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA
The Norton Simon Museum is home to 11 works by Rodin, eight of which are on permanent view in the museum's front entrance garden. These include such iconic bronze sculptures as Monument to Balzac and The Burghers of Calais, as well as The Thinker, which looks out over busy Colorado Boulevard. Rodin's mastery of depicting the human form is evident in the works Saint John the Baptist, The Walking Man, Jean de Fiennes, Vetu, Pierre de Wissant, and Nude. Also in the collection, but not on permanent display, are three of Rodin's charming small bronze works depicting dancers in various poses.