General & Miscellaneous Art, Sculpture, Art Styles & Periods

Rodin in His Time

Name: Rodin in His Time
Author: Mary Levkoff
ISBN: 9780847822997

by Mary Levkoff

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Overview

The sculpture of Auguste Rodin has become such an important part of our visual culture that it seems to have been with us always. The universal appeal of Rodin's work springs from its emotional expressiveness, its astonishingly lifelike vitality, and its passionate mirroring of the human condition. With his impressionistic technique, supported by a complete mastery of anatomical structure, Rodin overthrew the reigning academic precepts of finish and symmetry. By developing subjects beyond traditional allegories, he pointed the way to sheer abstraction in the twentieth century. This handsomely illustrated catalogue publishes for the first time in its entirety a major American collection of sculpture, the Cantor gifts to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and provides a rich context for Rodin's own work. It presents sculpture by Rodin's most important nineteenth century forerunners - Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, Francois Rude, and others - as well as work by the contemporaries he admired, those with whom he competed, those he influenced, and those who moved from his orbit to develop their own styles at the dawn of the twentieth century. But the centerpiece of the book remains Rodin: forty-one works by the most influential sculptor of the modern period, all specially photographed and many shown in multiple views.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Published to accompany an exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, this book surrounds Rodin's work with sculptural examples of both his predecessors and followers. The introductory essay as well as the lengthy and informative entries on each of the works under discussion contextualizes the oeuvre of this most famous and influential sculptor. Each sculpture is discussed extensively with documentation on its creation. Profusely illustrated with many of the sculptures depicted from a number of angles, this catalog will serve as an admirable adjunct to other Rodin studies (e.g., Ruth Butler's Rodin, LJ 8/93). Recommended for larger art collections.-Martin R. Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Institution Libs., Washington, D.C.

Booknews

New edition of a beautifully illustrated catalogue that presents in its entirety a major American collection of sculpture and provides a rich context for Rodin's own work that pointed the way to sheer abstraction in the 20th century. Although it also presents sculpture by Rodin's most important 19th-century forerunners as well as work by the contemporaries he admired, those with whom he competed, those he influenced, and those who moved from his orbit to develop their own styles, the centerpiece of the volume comprises 42 works by Rodin himself. Contains extensive accompanying text by Levkoff, Curator of European Sculpture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Includes 154 illustrations, 41 of which are in color. Oversize: 8.75x12<">. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)