The Age of Bronze
Sculpture by Auguste Rodin
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The Age of Bronze (French: L'âge d'airain) is a bronze statue by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840–1917). The figure is of a life-size nude male, 72 in. (182.9cm) high. Rodin continued to produce casts of the statue for several decades after it was modeled in 1876.
| The Age of Bronze | |
|---|---|
| L'âge d'airain (French) | |
The Age of Bronze, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany (2006). | |
| Artist | Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) |
| Year | 1877 (first exhibited) |
| Type | Statue |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Dimensions | Life size |
The sculpture is famous for its extreme naturalism, which prompted suspicion that it was a lifecast. Rodin had a Belgian soldier pose for the statue, keeping photographs which survive (in the Rodin Museum). The pose partly derives from Michelangelo's Dying Slave in the Louvre Museum, which has the elbow raised above the head.[1] Rodin had studied Michelangelo's work on a trip to Italy, taking inspiration from his naturalism.[2]: 33 Today, there are numerous casts of the statue held in major museum across the world
History
The Age of Bronze was not Auguste Rodin's first life-size sculpture. Previously, he was creating a piece that was destroyed while moving studios titled Bacchante. Following the destruction of Bacchante, The Age of Bronze was meant to establish his reputation.[3] At this time, Rodin's goal was to study the nude and create naturalistic sculptures.[4] Rodin was unsatisfied with professional models due to their inability to convey the natural poses he wished to sculpt. To solve this problem, he employed a 22-year-old Belgian soldier, Auguste Neyt.[4] The work was also influenced by Rodin's visit to Italy in 1876, where he sought inspiration from Michelangelo's depiction of the human form.[2]: 33
Originally, the figure held a spear, representing a warrior on the verge of defeat; however, Rodin removed the spear before displaying it to the public. This change drew attention to the figure's body and emotional state rather than the narrative content.[2]: 34
Reception
Rodin first exhibited the work under the title The Conquered Man at the Cercle Artistique in Brussels in January 1877. Belgian critics struggled to understand the absence of any identifiable subject matter, with one critic writing that Rodin had "forgotten only one thing and that is to explain his subject".[3]: 344 Another critic, attempting to make sense of the work, speculated that it represented "a man on the verge of suicide".[2]: 34 Belgian critics also raised suspicion that the work had been cast directly from the model.[3]
Similar suspicions were expressed several months later, when the work was exhibited at the Salon in Paris, under the title The Age of Bronze.[4] This suspicion benefited Rodin, though, because people were so eager to see this for themselves.[5] Critics expressed other misgivings about the work; one described the figure as "a sickly nude fellow" while another complained that it possessed "neither character nor beauty".[6]
Analysis and interpretations
The Age of Bronze, being Rodin's first successful large sculpture, represents a long period of effort, training, struggle, and research.[4] Much of the scholarship on the work examines the narrative ambiguity of the work, analyzing the pose of the figure for its psychological evocations. The weight shifting to the right side, the relaxing of the lips, and the way the head sits upon the shoulders, invite speculation about the man's suffering and inner life.[2]: 34
Scholars have also examined the work in relation to Rodin's goals of making naturalistic sculpture.[2]: 33 The influence of Michelangelo's Dying Slave on the work has commonly been interpreted in terms of this aim.[2]: 33 Scholars have also pointed to differences between the two sculptures, describing Rodin's figure as more agile, fluid, and naturalistic than Michelangelo's more rigidly defined work.[2]: 33
Casts
Casts of the statue can be found in many museums, including:
Gallery
Plaster from 1877
Plaster, detail
Bronze cast
Bronze cast from 1876/1877 in Lyon
Detail of the bronze cast in the National Gallery of Canada, cast in 1901
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