This event is presented in conjunction with the exhibition RODIN: TRUTH, FORM, LIFE, Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collections (September 13 - December 21, 2019).

By the early 20th century, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) was widely regarded as the greatest European sculptor since Michelangelo. Rejecting 19th-century academic traditions that dictated what was “proper” in art, Rodin pursued his own deeply held belief that art should be true to nature. Working in clay, wax, plaster, marble, and bronze with vigorous modeling that emphasized his personal response to his subjects, Rodin explored new ways to express the vitality of the human spirit. He was also one of the first sculptors to embrace the fragment as a complete work of art, capable of conveying the same expressive qualities as a fully finished figure. With his commitment to the free exploration of form and emotion, Rodin’s work paved the way for the development of 20th century modernist sculpture.

This special exhibition, organized and made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, presents 22 of Rodin’s bronze sculptures, which were modeled between 1860 and 1910. The works on view include preparatory studies for some of Rodin’s most important public commissions, such as The Burghers of Calais and The Gates of Hell, as well as portraits of French authors Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac.