17³Ô¹ÏÍø

Rodin: Truth, Form, Life

Selections from the Cantor Collections on view at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Cantor Art Gallery
January 25 - April 7, 2019

 

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø will host the exhibition “Rodin: Truth, Form, Life” featuring bronze sculptures by the renowned French artist Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917) from Jan. 24 – April 7, 2019. The exhibition includes twenty-two works originally sculpted between 1860 and 1910 and selected from the Cantor Foundations Collections. All pieces were later casts approved by the Musée Rodin in Paris. The exhibition was organized by Judith Sobol, curator of collections and exhibitions for the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. An opening reception will take place Thurs., Jan. 24, 5 – 6:30 p.m., with opening remarks by the curator at 5:30 p.m.

The significance of Rodin’s work is explained by Sobol, “at the peak of his career Auguste Rodin was regarded as the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo. By rejecting Nineteenth-Century academic traditions that dictated what was ‘proper’ in art, he conveyed the vitality of the human spirit through hard marble and bronze. His vigorous modeling emphasized his personal response to his subjects, and he conveyed movement and emotion by inventing new poses and gestures.  Rodin created his own form of artistic expression, which today we acknowledge as having led sculpture into the modern era, and that his studio practices led artists there too.”

Highlights of the exhibition will include:  Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose, 1863-1864, Monumental Head of the Shade, c. 1880, and Study for Torso of Walking Man, 1878-79. In addition to the works on loan through the Cantor Foundation, the Gallery is pleased to show several Rodin sculptures from the College’s permanent collection given to 17³Ô¹ÏÍø in the early 1980s by the Cantors, some of which have not been on public display in recent years.

The inaugural exhibition of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery was in 1983 and featured thirty-one bronze sculptures by Auguste Rodin on loan from the collections of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor. Included in that original exhibition were figures from his three major public projects: The Gates of Hell, The Burghers of Calais, and Monument to Balzac. In 2003, the Cantor Art Gallery hosted the exhibition “Rodin’s Obsession: The Gates of Hell, Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collections”, also circulated by the Cantor Foundation.

“Now, thirty-five years after the founding of the Cantor Art Gallery at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø, we are pleased to present “Truth, Form, Life” in celebration of concurrent milestone anniversaries for both the College and the Gallery,” said Roger Hankins, director of the Cantor Art Gallery.

The Cantor Art Gallery will extend its hours to include Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. during the run of the exhibition. “Rodin: Truth, Form, Life” has been organized and made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.

 

EVENTS

Opening Reception

Thursday, January 24

5 – 6:30 p.m. | Cantor Art Gallery

5 p.m. In conjunction with the opening of the exhibition there will be a presentation of the distinguished award of le Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques* from the French government by officials of the French Consulate of Boston to Maurice Géracht, Stephen J. Prior Professor of Humanities.

5:30 p.m. Exhibition opening remarks by Judith Sobol, Curator of Collections & Exhibitions, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

* Le Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques, created by Napoleon in 1808, is the oldest non-military decoration in France, representing a knighthood of arts and culture. Professor Géracht is receiving the award in recognition of his promotion of the French language and culture in the United States. As a member of the English Department since 1966, his remarkable career of teaching and service at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø has spanned over fifty years.

Lecture by Judith Sobol
Curator of Collections & Exhibitions, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Thursday, February 7, 4:30 p.m. | Stein Hall, 120

Noontime Exhibition Walk-throughs
Michael Beatty, assistant professor of Visual Arts and Roger Hankins, director, Cantor Art Gallery
Thursdays, February 21, March 7 & 21, April 4

Film Screening @ Noon
Rodin: The Gates of Hell
Thursday, March 14, Noon – 1 p.m.

Drawing in the Gallery @ Noon
With Prof. Leslie Schomp
Monday, March 18^th | noon – 1 p.m.

Clay Modelling in the Gallery @ Noon
With Roger Hankins
Wednesday, March 20^th | Noon – 1 p.m.

Rodin’s Drawings: A life-long Obsession
Lecture by Leslie Schomp
Wednesday, March 27, noon

Additional drop-in drawing and clay sculpting sessions @ Noon
Thursday, March 28 and Tuesday April 2