Auguste Rodin: The Architect of Modern Sculpture and the Conversations on Art

Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) was a French sculptor, widely seen as the founder of modern sculpture. He made The Thinker, The Kiss, and The Burghers of Calais, and he gave clay and bronze a rough, living surface that broke with the polish of academic work.

Art is a book of conversations between Rodin and the critic Paul Gsell. It was translated into English by Mrs. Romilly Fedden and published in Boston in 1912. In it Rodin talks about nature, the Greeks, movement, and the work of the studio. Readers who admire Michelangelo will find that Rodin shares his reverence for the human body.

This collection contains 14 sentences from the public-domain text on Project Gutenberg. They are arranged by theme and quoted exactly as printed. Unless noted otherwise, the speaker is Rodin.

14 Quotes from Auguste Rodin

Art and Contemplation

“Art is contemplation.”

Rodin gives his shortest definition in the Preface. Art, he says, is the pleasure the mind takes in searching into nature. The sentence puts looking and thinking at the heart of the artist's work, and it prepares the more detailed arguments that follow in the book.

“Formerly, in old France, Art was everywhere.”

In the Preface, Rodin laments that art has been pushed out of daily life. In the past, he says, the craftsman's skill and taste were found in every object. The sentence is a complaint and a call to look again at the way everyday things are made.

“The Greek artists loved nature so well that their works bathe in it as in their element.”

Rodin says this while looking at antique statues standing among garden greenery. For him, Greek sculpture and nature belong together. The image of statues "bathing" in nature is vivid, and it states his view that ancient art was a form of respect for the living world.

Obeying Nature

“I obey Nature in everything, and I never pretend to command her.”

In Chapter I, Rodin explains to Gsell that he follows the poses models take naturally. He does not arrange them to fit an idea. The sentence is a statement of humility and method, and it makes the sculptor a servant of what he sees rather than a ruler over it.

“My only ambition is to be servilely faithful to her.”

Rodin continues the thought from the previous line. His aim is faithfulness to nature, not invention. The word "servilely" is strong, and it shows how seriously he took the discipline of observation. The statement may surprise those who think of him as a radical, since radical in his case meant looking harder.

“I take from life the movements I observe, but it is not I who impose them.”

Rodin describes how he works from live models in motion. He notes the movements that occur and records them, rather than telling the model what to do. The sentence helps explain why his figures seem to be caught in the middle of an act, and not posed for the viewer.

“But, after all, the only principle in Art is to copy what you see.”

Rodin says that every attempt to improve nature leads to error. The sentence is blunt, and it was meant to correct academic habits of idealising the model. Readers should note that for Rodin "copying" meant seeing the whole truth, including what lies beneath the surface.

“There is no recipe for improving nature.”

He rejects the idea that an artist can correct nature by a formula. If you try to make the model more beautiful by rule, he argues, you lose its life. The sentence is short and firm, and it fits the book's repeated claim that real beauty is found in truth.

“If I had wished to modify what I saw and to make it more beautiful, I should have produced nothing good.”

Here Rodin defends his fidelity to the model. He did not try to beautify what he saw, and he believed that the effort would have weakened his work. The sentence is a kind of professional confession, and it explains the strength of his rough, truthful surfaces.

Movement, Life, and Craft

“They never made a method out of falsehood.”

In Chapter III, Rodin says this of the Greeks. They did not simplify or falsify nature as a system, he argues, in the way that later academies did. The sentence is a sharp comment on the habit of teaching art by rules, and it shows his respect for the ancient sculptors' honesty.

“Never see the form in length, but always in thickness.”

Rodin passes on advice given to him by a sculptor named Constant. The sentence is a practical rule for modelling. A figure must be seen as a mass in space, with depth, and not as a flat outline. The advice explains much about the solidity of his own figures.

“Now, the illusion of life is obtained in our art by good modelling and by movement.”

In Chapter IV, Rodin explains how sculpture, which is still, can seem alive. Modelling gives the figure its weight and surface, and movement gives it energy. The sentence is a compact lesson in how he thought about his own work, and it joins technique with feeling.

“Art cannot exist without life.”

Rodin says that a statue must seem alive if it is to move the viewer. The sentence is simple, and the standard it sets is strict. It may be used to measure any work of art, because it asks whether the thing before us has the energy and truth of a living being.

“Craft is only a means.”

In Chapter V, Gsell worries that scorn for craft might harm art, and Rodin replies that the artist who neglects it will not reach his goal. The sentence is balanced. Craft is not the end, but without it nothing can be done, and the sculptor must master the means to serve the purpose.

Conclusion

Rodin's conversations show a sculptor who distrusted theories and trusted the model in front of him. Across these fourteen sentences he asks for contemplation, faithfulness to nature, and a mastery of craft that serves life. The ideas are simple to state and hard to practise, which is part of their power.

Rodin died in 1917, and his work is displayed in museums around the world. The book of conversations gives a clear account of how he talked about his art, and it rewards readers who look at his sculptures with these sentences in mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Auguste Rodin?

Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) was a French sculptor, famous for The Thinker, The Kiss, and The Burghers of Calais. He is regarded as a founder of modern sculpture.

What is the book Art?

It is a collection of conversations between Rodin and the critic Paul Gsell, translated into English by Mrs. Romilly Fedden and published in Boston in 1912.

What did Rodin think about nature?

He believed that the artist should follow nature faithfully and not try to improve it by rules. He argued that the truth of what the eye sees is the basis of art.

Which text is quoted here?

The quotations come from Art by Auguste Rodin, edited by Paul Gsell, in the public-domain English edition on Project Gutenberg. They are given as printed.

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Should an artist copy nature or improve it? Share your view in the comments below!