Description
The sculptor who broke the mold — literally. Frederic V. Grunfeld’s Rodin is the classic modern biography of Auguste Rodin (1840–1917): the failed academician who became the father of modern sculpture, the man whose Thinker and Kiss conquered the world while Paris scandalized itself over his eroticism and his ego.
Grunfeld follows Rodin from the brickyards of obscurity to the Hôtel Biron, through the triumph of The Gates of Hell and the tempestuous affair with Camille Claudel — the brilliant student-lover whose tragedy shadows every page. It is a story of ambition as large as the bronzes, told with novelistic sweep and scholarly depth.
The essential Rodin biography: passionate, thorough, and dramatic. Read it before visiting any museum with a Thinker — you will never see the bronze the same way. A great life, greatly told. Grunfeld’s narrative never flags: the studios, the salons, the scandals, all rendered with novelistic vividness.
Rodin: A Biography
Frederic V. Grunfeld’s Rodin: A Biography is the first major English-language life of Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) — arguably the greatest sculptor of the modern era, and creator of such immortal works as The Thinker, The Kiss, The Gates of Hell, and The Burghers of Calais.
Published in 1987, Grunfeld’s exhaustive biography draws on years of meticulous research to trace Rodin’s journey from poverty and obscurity to worldwide fame. He brings vividly to life the sculptor’s turbulent personal relationships — above all with the gifted Camille Claudel — his fierce battles with the artistic establishment, and the passionate, revolutionary vision that transformed sculpture forever.
Richly detailed and deeply human, this is the definitive portrait of a genius who redefined what sculpture could express, set against the vivid backdrop of bohemian Paris at the turn of the century. A landmark of art biography, it remains the standard life of the master. Essential reading for lovers of art history and biography alike.
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