Rodin: The Hands of Genius
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Sculpture
Rodin: The Hands of Genius Details
Language Notes Text: English (translation) Original Language: French Read more
Reviews
Although largely biographical, it covers most of his important pieces and their impact on his life and the art of that era. But, what I love about the book are the beautifully written prose of (the poet) Rainer Maria Rilke and his commentary about particular pieces, that can't be found in print elsewhere. Particularly striking is Rilke's commentary on Rodin's The Burghers of Calais in the first several pages, which gives a dynamic piece its true emotional content. This is what makes this small book unique. Coffee table sized books on Rodin will give more satisfying visual reproduction of Rodin's works and probably provide more critical commentary on the meaning of individual works, but this small book does have rather unusual content. It has sections in the back on the lost wax technique and excerpts of letters and interesting photographs of Rodin at work in his studio and imposing his enormous ego over the works that made him one of the most important sculptors since antiquity.