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 CHARLIE
BARNESNEWS NOTESCOMPRESSONIN MEMORIAMORIGINAL SEMINOLESARCHIVESUNDERWRITING |
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From Rodin to theatre and a concert--Ringling and Asolo offer it all
The Thinker The Kiss |
Until Jan. 5, there's no need to fly to Paris to see The Thinker, The Kiss or about 70 other works of the greatest French sculptor of the 19th century, Auguste Rodin. They're all in the The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, in an exhibit called "Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation." Along with the bronze sculptures are bronze studies for Rodin's epic monuments, drawings, historic photographs and models and a film showing the stages of the lost-wax process for casting bronze sculpture. "Indisputably, Rodin created figures and images that
captured the passion of his age," said Dr. John Wetenhall,
executive director of the Ringling Museum. More than any sculptor
of his age, Rodin revealed in his finished sculpture the pro-cess
of how he made each sculpture. He used fragmentation to express the complex dilemmas of social order. He broke the figure into pieces to capture the sensations of movement and emotion, and he often exposed the joint lines of the piece molds to deliberately foil expectations of wholeness. Patched-together couples often seem to collide and pull at each other without any true mutuality. Breaking the academic rules of his era, Rodin presented fragments of figures, hands, feet, heads and torsos as finished pieces. During his lifetime, the popularity of his work led him to commission foundries to cast versions of his sculpture as the market demanded. For example, The Kiss and The Eternal Spring were available in four sizes. At the end of his highly successful career, he left his estate to the French government, with the stipulation that the government would build a museum for his work after his death. In accordance with Rodin's will, the Musée Rodin in Paris was given the right to cast Rodin's sculpture posthumously. In 1956, French law limited production to 12 casts of each model. A system of numbering was established by law in 1968: the first eight of the 12 casts, numbered 1/8 through 8/8, have been available for the public to purchase; the last four, numbered I/IV through IV/IV, are reserved for cultural institutions. The law was reestablished and strictly imposed in 1981. All works in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection and Cantor Foundation Collection are considered original Rodins, under the French law. Some of them were made during Rodin's lifetime, others after he died, according to his instructions to the government of France. The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation was established in 1978 to organize and circulate exhibitions of Rodin sculpture. Gerald Cantor (1916-1996) was widely acknowledged as the preeminent collector and proponent of Rodin in the United States during the second part of the 20th century. It was his dream to share his passion for Rodin's work with a broad public audience. Iris Cantor is chairman of the foundation, which promotes the arts and supports exhibitions, scholarships and the endowment of galleries and sculpture gardens at major museums. More than 450 works of art from the Cantor Collection have been given to 70 museums. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, in its affiliation with FSU, is the largest museum/university complex in the nation. It is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission to the Ringling Museum of Art includes the Circus Museum, a timed tour of Cà d'Zan mansion, Rose Garden and the grounds. Adult admission is $15; admission for ages 55 and older is $12. Admission is free for children 12 and younger accompanied by an adult, museum members and Florida students and teachers with valid I.D. cards. For more information, call 941.351.1660. |
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