Product Description
Auguste Rodin, the most famous and influential sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is also widely considered to be the successor to Michelangelo, whose genius was a lifelong inspiration to him. Though the astonishingly lifelike quality of his sculpture was in defiance of current academic conventions, Rodin was spared the prolonged and bitter hostility meted out to the Impressionists who were his contemporaries, and in later life he became a famous and widely respected figure. Bernard Champigneulle discusses Rodin's great significance as an innovator in sculpture. For Rodin created an entirely new form--the detail considered as finished work--and in doing so exercised a lasting influence on future sculptors, who were profoundly affected by his emotional expressiveness, his power of characterization, and his subtle modeling. This authoritative monograph combines a searching reappraisal of Rodin's achievement with a revealing account of his personality and his troubled private life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Beautiful
A beautifully prepared work. Well written, with stunning black and white pohotos of Rodin's major works. The writing is very elegant, yet simple and elegant. A must for any collector or any one interested in Rodin.

Beautifully written
This book was definitely informative and complete.But what I found mostcompelling about it was the author's poetic tone.It was refreshing to beso enchanted by a biography; sometimes they can be awfully dry.Thesubject of Rodin and his work is, of course, irresistable.But, I reallyfelt this book was a page turner because of the eloquent writing.

wonderful selection of Rodin's work with an informative bio
Champigneulle's RODIN is a very informative, chronological account ofRodin's life as an artist, packed with an excellent selection of platesillustrating his work.The text is clearly presented, well-organized andvery well supported by well-placed illustrations. ... Read more

Product Description
An examination of the interplay of passion, self-destruction and aesthetic development that characterised one of the most artistically fruitful, yet ultimately tragic, turn-of-the century love-affairs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Sad story of passion and art
Camille Claudel was a brilliant sculptor and one of Rodin's proteges - and mistresses. She was obsessed by him - and about 25 years younger - and grew jealous when he would not give up his longtime lover. Gradually a pscyhotic tendencies appeared until she grew really mad and destroyed most of her work. Her last 30 years or so were spent in an asylum in France. Most people think she got a raw deal. Nowadays she would never have been incarcerated. Tragic story very well told here, with interesting photographs.

A STORMY RELATIONSHIP
Books have been written and films produced about the stormy relationship between sculptor Auguste Rodin and promising sculptress Camille Claudel.Few liaisons have been as artistically fruitful or as emotionally turbulent.

In an attempt to freshly evaluate her work, this concise volume examines Claudel's impact upon Rodin's work, her family background, and her tragic descent into mental instability.

According to most biographers, Rodin's affection for Claudel continued even after their final separation as he continued to use her as a model.Perhaps the most poignant reminder of her is found in "The Thought," a pale, melancholy study.

Rich with illustrations by of works by both Rodin and Claudel, this title sheds new light on one of the most dramatic partnerships in the world of art.

- Gail Cooke

A Refreshing Look at an all-too-politicized relationship
I found this book engaging and very interesting.The relationship between Claudel and Rodin is examined fully and with an eye to historical accuracy.Though some may wish to champion the cause of an artist largely unrecognized in important critical scholarship, such politicization of an historical event to meet modern aims is untenable at best.For those seeking an honest, thoughtful account of a dynamic and difficult relationship between a premier artist and an aspiring sculptor this book is worth the read.The reproductions are dazzling in quality and the design is pleasing and neat.

downgrading Claudel to a copy of Rodin
Camille Claudel was too genuine, too proud an artist to ever allow her work to be a copy of Rodin's.Who knows maybe it should be the other way: Rodin copying Claudel...

An uninspired work that lacks insight.
Schmoll has taken the party line on this piece and looks at every reason to discredit Claudel to the benefit of Rodin.Criticism of Claudel goes so far as to imply that her best works could have been touched up by Rodin.Schmoll even takes time to nitpick at Claudel's looks, pointing out that they were marred by a "weak" chin.From the beginning Schmoll compares the work of a young girl's in her 20's to that of a man in his 40's.It is one of the poorest critical studies of an artist that this reader has ever read. ... Read more

Product Description
A beautifully illustrated exploration of more than sixty of the finest works of one of the nineteenth century's greatest sculptors includes expert commentary on the meaning and relevance of Rodin's sculptures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Rodin and the Fragmented Form
"Rodin: A Passion for Movement" by Dominique Jarrasse is an objective exploration of Rodin's major works based on three dimensions; movement, (as the title suggests), light and shade and the fragmented figure.These elements are explored through articulate text and beautiful, high-resolution photographs and drawings.The focus of the book is on Rodin's motivation and his alchemist method of modeling his figures to achieve the exact postures, which would give the sculpture a sense of movement.He paid an enormous amount of attention to the interplay between light and shade, taking from the masters, most notably Michelangelo.However, a great deal of controvesy surrounded Rodin's work based on his constant rejection from the academic community. In spite of his mastery, Rodin wasn't accepted because of his affinity for the fragmented figure, which he saw as a finished piece of work.This notion was affirmed by his quote, "I will never again make anything complete.I will make only antiques."(P. 46)The book begins with an analysis of "The Burghers of Calais", a monument to the six martyrs who surrendered the keys to the city of Calais to King Edward III during the Hundred Years War.The author explores the psychological undertones of each of the six men and Rodin's efforts to exact the pain and distress felt by these heroic men.Rodin paid close attention to the facial expressions of each of these figures in an effort to personify the different emotions these men and this monument symbolize.He chose a circular composition to depict the moment where these men were walking to the town hall, to meet King Edward and to meet death, creating a sense of eternal movement.Rodin established himself in the art world at the age of forty with a commission for the Musee des Arts Decoratifs.He found inspiration for this grandiose work from Dante's "Inferno", which he titled "The Gates of Hell."This work became "essentially an ode to sculpture" (p. 53) and took over twenty years for him to create.He reused fragments from other works that he created and many of his more famous works are found in this sculpture.At the top sits "The Thinker", which was Rodin's depiction of Dante.Rodin said, "His head on his fist, he wonders.Fertile thoughts slowly rise in his mind.He is not a dreamer.He is a creator." (p.90)Rodin was constantly studying and revising his fragmented forms.In Rodin's opinion these fragments were the essence to his work. Gustave Kahn explained, "The fragment is beautiful in itself, and the study of the fragment, a useful and legitimate thing."(p. 210)Throughout the book, the author includes a variety of photographs, however it would have been more informative had the author included many more of these studies and variations on each work.

Superb collection of photographs
This large-format book really does justice to Rodin's work, with a very large number of photographs covering all his major works, often fromseveral perspectives.

Good descriptions of Rodin's pieces
This book depicts most of his major works with many color photographs.Likewise, a short narrative accompanies each photo describing the artist's inspiration, background and overall effect of each piece.A good book toaccompany any novice wanting to learn more on Rodin. ... Read more

Product Description
With his erotic nude studies Auguste Rodin completed the artistic step towards modernity during the last two decades of his life. To a greater extent than in his sculptural œuvre he broke with art traditions in his pencil drawings, watercolors and drawings combined with scissor cuts, establishing his total independence of prevalent beauty ideals and morals. The intimate character is born out by the expeditious stroke, comparable to instantaneous snapshots, and the liberality of the motifs. Contemporaries such as Rilke and Paul Klee immediately recognized the revolutionary artistic quality of the drawings. The price Harry Graf Kessler had to pay for exhibiting them in Weimar 1906 was high, however: he was dismissed from his position as head of the Grand-Ducal museum. This book, a softcover reprint of our 1995 classic, contains 105 watercolors and scissor cuts collected from museums and private collections from all over the world, including some "scandal" drawings from Weimar. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Never too much
"I have been accused of thinking about women too much ... But what could be more beautiful than thinking about women?" - Auguste Rodin

Rodin is a striking example of an artist who achieved recognition in his own lifetime. That included financial independence, which gave him the freedom to explore directions for which patronage would have been hard to find. In fact, the display of some images in this series is said to have cost the director of the Grand-Ducal Museum his job.

It's easy to think of Rodin's masterworks in statuary as complete command of form. Whatever Rodin thought of them, it wasn't enough. His later life produced "one-minute drawings" like these by the thousands. He was looking for something, possibly within himself, that he never found words to articulate wholly. One proposal holds that he wanted to capture the dimension of time, the frozen moment, that eluded stone and bronze.

Perhaps he succeeded. Beyond that, he also succeeded in collecting a wonderful catalog of female figure - not just figure, but dynamic and exciting figure. The excitement is more than just intellectual. It goes well towards the carnal but stops short of vulgarity, at least to a modern eye. These models presented not just their forms but their arousal, of themselves and of their same-sex partners. Rodin's genius captured their passion and his own, stripped of any critical sentiment.

This book will work well to complement a library that already represents Rodin's better-known works. These watercolor drawings tend toward a sameness of color, contrast, and style that might wear on some viewers' patience. I guess it's not for everyone. If you've already befriended Rodin's work, though, this is an enjoyable way to deepen your relationship.

-- wiredweird

The full color reproductions are superbly presented
Images Of Desire: Erotic Watercolors And Cut-Outs showcases the erotic watercolor illustrations and cut-out artwork by Auguste Rodin, the famed French artist most commonly known through his sculptures. A brief introduction by Anne-Marie Bonnet adds pensive thought on these minimalist, somewhat abstract yet undeniably sensual and sexual artworks celebrating pleasure and love. Intense imagery evokes passion out of the simplest lines. The full color reproductions are superbly presented and make Images Of Desire a welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Art History and Art Appreciation reference collections. ... Read more

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This stunning new series provides a vivid picture of the lives and works of some of the world's greatest artists and their influence on the world of art. Each book includes: reconstruction artwork of particular scenes from the artist's life; examples of the artist's work at various stages of their life with text to link; their life and work; life story and photographs of the artist; a timeline ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1911.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more