Introduction
Last Saturday, I visited the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art (FRWM) at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, California, to see their exhibition of a selection of Auguste Rodin’s art from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor collections. The FRWM showcases contemporary and historical art by various nationally acclaimed artists, but I was particularly to the above bronze models for their complexity and appeal. Notably, most scholars and art critics considered Rodin (full name François-Auguste-René Rodin) one of the greatest sculptors of all time and the best after Michelangelo. Many also see him as the forerunner of modern sculpture, yet he never intended to rebel against the past. Instead, Auguste Rodin took traditional sculpting classes and sought academic recognition. However, he tried three times (within one and a half years) and failed to get admission to École des Beaux-Arts, the best art school in Paris during his time. Notwithstanding his failed academic pursuits, Rodin’s 40 bronzes exhibited at the FRWM are exemplary for their treatment of complex mythical, biblical, secular, and allegorical aspects of the woman. Because it is highly expressive, Rodin’s bronze sculpture titled “The Kiss” portrays men and women as representing religion, patriotism, and love.
Discussion
Rodin’s “The Kiss” is an image of sexual love; a mixture of idealism and eroticism. The sculpture depicts adulterous lovers – Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini – slain by Francesca’s outraged husband. The two characters appear in Inferno, a novel by Dante with a vivid description of the growth of the couple’s passion as they read Lancelot and Guinevere – the book in Paolo’s hands – together. The two lovers went against the accepted social behavior and met their death. Initially, while the image appears innocent, it represents the dangers that lark in disloyalty and cheating. Thus, the piece of art proves that an actual connection exists between art and structures of power. Through their sculptures, paintings, and similar productions, artists embed their works in economic, social, and political structures that influence their meaning. Undeniably, artifacts and arts reflect or represent subtle political ideals while also one version of reality over another. From this perspective, one can view the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., which relates to “The Kiss” in that both are sculptures, as a testament to a political system that oppressed people of color and yet it summoned the political will needed to set free the oppressed in the process of ending the bloody American Revolutionary War of 1778 to 1783.
Conclusion
Auguste Rodin was arguably one of the most talented sculptors of his time. Most critics and scholars consider him the forerunner of modern sculpture and the best since Michelangelo. His numerous art pieces are displayed in various museums across the globe, including the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art (FRWM) at Pepperdine University, where 40 bronze pieces of different structures, sizes, and forms exist. The Kiss is one of these art pieces. It represents a great deal of information about the complexity of social and political matters affecting the community. Specifically, the productions show the complex secular, mythical, and biblical aspects of the woman. Issues such as love, companionship, and loyalty are crucial to society, but they may also represent difficult problems that individuals may have difficulty solving. Not surprisingly, the husband of the adulterous woman shown in the sculpture killed her and her lover when he found that he had married an unfaithful woman. The action and the events preceding it confirm that both men and women are a structural portrayal of different forms of patriotism, love, and religion.