In the 1860s, when Auguste Rodin began making sculpture, art was deeply rooted in the past and depicted stories from religion, history, and myth. By the peak of his career in the 1890s, Rodin had transformed sculpture into something that elicited emotion and imagination. By the time Rodin died in 1917 he had, through prodigious talent and a remarkable volume of work, revolutionized sculpture. Today his work is a crucial link between traditional and modern art.
RODIN: MUSES, SIRENS, LOVERS explores the artist’s fascination with and representation of women. The exhibition showcases some 40 bronzes of women as models, love interests, and artistic inspiration. These works tell the story of the importance of Rodin’s sculpture to modern art and encapsulate the innovations that broke with centuries of tradition to forge a path to today. The exhibition also includes special loans from the Cantors and the Cantor Foundation, the Brooklyn Museum, the Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, and the North Carolina Museum of Art.
This exhibition has been organized and made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.