Auguste Rodin on Art and Sculpture

Auguste Rodin: Sculpture is The Art of Depression and Protuberance

" In sculpture the first ...principle is that of construction. Construction is the first problem that faces the artist studying his model, whether that model is a human being, animal, tree or flower. The question arises regarding the model as a whole and regarding it in its seperate parts. All form that is to be reproduced ought to be reproduced in its true dimensions, in its complete volume. "

" Scupture is quite simply the art of depression and protuberance. There is no getting away from that. "

Auguste Rodin: Art and Nature

" As paradoxical as it may seem, a great sculptor is as much a colorist as the best painter, or, rather, the best engraver. He plays so skillfully with all the resources of relief, he blends so well the boldness of light with the modesty of shadow, that his sculptures please one so much as the most charming etchings. "

Auguste Rodin: Michelangelo and the Gothic

" To sum it up, the greatest genius of modern times has celebrated the epic of shadow, while the ancients celebrated that of light. And if we now seek the spiritual significance of the technique of Michelangelo, as we did that of the Greeks, we shall find that his sculpture expressed restless energy, the will to act without the hope of success - in fine, the martyrdom of the creature tormented by unrealizable aspirations ..."

" To tell the truth, Michelangelo does not, as it is often contended, hold a unique place in art. He is the culmination of all Gothic thought ..."

 

Source
Goldwater, R & Treves, M. 1976. Artists on Art, From the 14th to the 20th Century . John Murray.

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