Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece
The show was
beautifully laid out and the new exhibition space at the museum was used in quite
a different way with the whole space opened up and visible and yet with a very
definite path round and narrative. What a surprise to the find the space had a
wall of windows at one end which had not been used before. A perfect space and
light for showing sculpture.
The show made great use of the Parthenon sculptures and frieze which Rodin saw and sketched in London from 1881 and drew on those drawings throughout his career. The show blended Greek pieces and Rodin’s work in a seamless narrative and it was lovely to see sections of the frieze at eye level.
There was a good section in the middle looking at the Gates of Hell and how that was influenced by Greek work plus how Rodin reused motifs from it in other works. Also an extensive look at the Burghers of Calais including life sized studies for some of the figures and the work itself borrowed from Victoria Tower Garden’s by the Houses of Parliament.
The show also looked at Rodin’s own collection of Greek sculpture and the small gallery he built for it in his garden moving the works into the garden in the summer or at night to study how difference light fell on them.
It was nice to see some of his small figures of dancers again which are made up of a set of cast body parts in different combinations. The whole set was shown recently at the Courtauld and it’s always nice to see connections between shows.
Closes on 29 July 2018
Reviews
Times
GuardianEvening Standard
The show made great use of the Parthenon sculptures and frieze which Rodin saw and sketched in London from 1881 and drew on those drawings throughout his career. The show blended Greek pieces and Rodin’s work in a seamless narrative and it was lovely to see sections of the frieze at eye level.
There was a good section in the middle looking at the Gates of Hell and how that was influenced by Greek work plus how Rodin reused motifs from it in other works. Also an extensive look at the Burghers of Calais including life sized studies for some of the figures and the work itself borrowed from Victoria Tower Garden’s by the Houses of Parliament.
The show also looked at Rodin’s own collection of Greek sculpture and the small gallery he built for it in his garden moving the works into the garden in the summer or at night to study how difference light fell on them.
It was nice to see some of his small figures of dancers again which are made up of a set of cast body parts in different combinations. The whole set was shown recently at the Courtauld and it’s always nice to see connections between shows.
Closes on 29 July 2018
Reviews
Times
GuardianEvening Standard
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