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Eternal Springtime – by Auguste Rodin

 at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Eternal Springtime [1884] and The Kiss [1886] – by Auguste Rodin. Both these sculptures were removed from his monumental sculptural group “Gates of Hell” as they evoke happiness, and euphoria, rather than the tragedy and sufferings that were portrayed in the Gates!

 

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In 1880, Auguste Rodin received commission to make “Gates of Hell”, a decorative relief door, for a future Musee des Beaux Arts. It was inspired by “The Inferno”, from Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy”.

Gates of Hell was a sculptural group, and Rodin made several pieces for this monumental work.Two of them were removed as they seemed to conflicted with the sufferings depicted in other figures.These are: “Eternal Springtime” [at display at AIC] and The Kiss [which I saw at Milwaukee Art Museum]..

In fact many of these sculptures [from Gates of Hell] later became independent work including The Thinker, Adam, Eve, and The Three Shades… Adam [1881] can also be viewed at AIC.

Rodin’s productive period, 1880-1900, coincided with the rise of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, avant-garde styles and aesthetic attitudes .. and all these dramatically impacted his art..

 

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