Rodin, Rene François Auguste

(11/12/1840 Paris-11/17/1917 Meudon) (France); aka Rodin, Auguste

   Sculptor, painter, and etcher. At a young age he was a pupil of Lecoq de Boisbaudran at the School of Decorative Art, then in the atelier of von Barye and Carrier-Belleuse. Starting as a decorative sculptor, his reputation rose to a major figure in latter 19th century sculpture. The eroticism of much of his work and his reputed lifestyle of sex and alcohol made him a very controversial figure in his lifetime. Many of his works have become icons of Western art, such as "The Thinker" and the "Burghers of Calais."

   Reproductions: The all-devouring female; 1888; Lucie-Smith, 1972: p. 149 . Before creation; c1900; Neret, 1994: p. 584 . Boree and Aquilon; Wallace 2007: p. 165 [C]. Burning bush; pencil and watercolor; Erotic drawings, 2004: p. 109 [C]. Christ and the Magdalene; 1894; Webb, 1975: p. 219 [B]. Courtesan; c1900; Neret, 1994: p. 530 [C]. The devil or Milton; c1900; Neret, 1994: p. 582 [C]. [Embracing couple]; c1889; graphite, pen and ink; Erotic drawings, 2004: p. 75 [C]. Eternal idol; 1889; Bentley, 1984: 135 [B] / Hill, 1993: p. 23 [B] / Lucie-Smith, 1972: p. 149 [B]. Eternal springtime; 1884; plaster; Haught 1992: p. 36 [B]. Female nude on all fours; Wallace 2007: p. 165 [C]. Garden of tortures; c1898; graphite, stamp, and watercolor; Erotic drawings, 2004: p. 107 [C]. Girl friends; Brusen-dorff, 1960b: p. 90 [B]. La Volupte; Wallace 2007: p. 164 [C]. [Nude woman on her back]; c1900; Neret, 1994; p. 585 [C]. Rape; Hurwood, 1975: p. 192 [B]. Salammbo; c1889; graphite and stamp; Erotic drawings, 2004: p. 46 [C]. Sapphic couple; c1900; Neret, 1994: pp. 586-587 [C]. Sapphic couple in profile: Wallace 2007: p. 165 [C]. Sapphic couple lying near a wheel of forture; c1889; graphite and watercolor; Erotic drawings, 2004: p. 43 [C]. Sapphic couple seated; c1889; graphite, stamp and watercolor; Erotic drawings, 2004: p. 51 [C] / Thomas, 2008: fig. 671 [C]. Sex of the female; pencil; Neret 1993: p. 55 [C]. Temple of love; c1889; Erotic drawings, 2004: p. 45 [C] / Thomas, 2008: fig. 652 [C]. Three crouching women; Melville, 1973: fig. 104 [B]. [Two nude women]; watercolor; Kronhuasen, 1970c: p. 32 [B]. [Two nude women in embrace]; pencil; Kronhuasen, 1970c: p. 33 [B]. Two women; c1900-1910; pencil, watercolor, gouache; Tilly, 1986: p. 42 [C]. Two women embracing; lead and watercolor; Erotic drawings, 2004: p. 121 [C]. [Woman on her back]; Neret, 1994: p. 583 [C].

   [b]Source: Benezit, vol. 11: pp. 1220-1226; Anne-Marie Bonnet, Auguste Rodin: erotic watercolors (New York: Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 1995); J.L. Bourdeaux, "Some reflexions on Rodin's The Kiss," Gazette des Beaux Arts (series 6) 86 (October 1985): pp. 123-128; Mario De Micheli, "Il piacere erotico dell'arte," Arte (Italy) 24, 249 (March 1994): pp. 86-89; DoA vol. 26: pp. 508-515; Erotikk og galskap: pa vel mot den frig jorte kunst!: Ernst Josephson, Auguste Rodin (Vikersund, Norway: Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarvevaerk, 2001), 175 p., ill. (some col.); David M. Gariff, "The amorous sculpture of August Rodin: a study in sensuality," M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University, 1980; Cynthia Nadelman, "Auguste Rodin's late erotic drawings," Drawing 9, 5 (January-February 1988): pp. 97-100; Philippe Piquet, "L'erotisme mis a nu chez Rodin et Picasso," L'Oeil 583 (September 2006): pp. 84-85; Philippe Piquet, "Les licencieux dessins du sculpteur Auguste Rodin," L'Oeil 583 (November 2006): pp. 87-89; Philippe Sollers and Alain Kirili, Rodin: dessins erotiques (Paris: Gallimard, 1987); Denys Sutton, Triumphant satyr: the world of Auguste Rodin (London: Country Life, 1966); ThB XXVIII 1934: p. 462; Dominique Vieville, Rodin, les figures d'Eros: dessins et aquarelles, 1890-1917 (Paris: Editions du Musee Rodin, 2006), 239 p., col. ill.