[Keywords:] sculpture; Rodin; Modern sculpture
First, the 20th century, the social reasons for the transformation of artistic modernization
In the 20th century, two epoch-making artists appeared in French art, one was Cezanne and the other was Rodin.
At that time, France experienced the second * * * and (1848- 1852), the Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte (1852- 1870) and the third * * and (/kloc-0). At that time, France was the source of anti-feudalism, anti-church and emerging bourgeois thoughts in Europe. A large number of philosophers, poets, writers and scientists emerged, and new scientific and technological inventions surpassed those of Britain, which was in the industrial revolution at that time. At the same time, Paris has become the art capital of the world, and modern art was born in such a social environment.
1839, a Frenchman invented photography. At that time, a French painter, Delaroche, declared: "From today, painting will die." This incident influenced all artists in the future, including Rodin and Cezanne. Classical art has become less sacred and noble because of the appearance of photography. Although painting has not ended, its meaning, expression, concept and value have been greatly impacted.
1859, Darwin published the Origin of Species, which led to the popularity of naturalism in French literature, and its representative figure was Cé zanne's close friend Zola. At the same time, it also influenced painters and sculptors' love and devotion to nature. Cezanne thinks: "A painter should devote himself wholeheartedly to the study of nature."
In the 20th century, social revolution and scientific inventions constantly promoted people's understanding of European art. After that, no matter sculpture or painting, the works created by artists tended to show nature and humanity, and gradually broke the artistic expression form dominated by the church at that time.
Second, Rodin's influence on modern sculpture
August? Rodin, a famous French sculptor. Fourteen with Horace? Le Cork studied painting, then studied sculpture with Beye, and served as Gary Behles's assistant, and went to Brussels to create decorative sculptures for five years. He visited Italy from 65438 to 0875 and was deeply inspired by Michelangelo's works, thus establishing realistic creative techniques. His works, such as The Bronze Age, The Thinker, Hugo, Citizen of Calais and Balzac, all have new creations and have been criticized by the French academic school. The design of Hell's Gate, including 186 sculptures, was not realized as planned due to the obstruction of the official at that time, and only some works such as The Thinker, The Kiss and Eve were completed. He is good at creating vivid and powerful artistic images with rich and varied painting techniques. He has made many sketches in his life, and his style is unique, and his artistic theory has been passed down from generation to generation.
Rodin's position in the history of European sculpture is just like that of the poet Dante in Europe. Rodin and his two students, Mayol and Budel, are called the "three pillars" of European sculpture. For modern people, he left one foot in the classical courtyard, but the other foot has crossed the threshold of modernism. It can be said that Rodin opened the door to modern sculpture in the new era with his mature and powerful hands and creative spirit that was not bound by tradition. When the young artist rushed in and ran forward, he was old and could not walk. His creation has a great influence on the development of modern European sculpture.
Rodin was born in a poor Christian family. His father is a police messenger and his mother is a poor civilian woman. Rodin loved art since he was a child, but all his other classes were terrible. With the support of his sister Mary, his disappointed father had to agree to send him to the Paris School of Arts and Crafts. His sister Mary paid for his room and board with the money she earned, so Rodin loved her deeply since she was a child.
Rodin King's Art and Craft School was founded by Madame de Pompadour's favorite painter Bessie Lier in 1765, where students studied the art of binding and painting. Here, he met Horace, the first teacher he admired in his life. Lecock. Lacock is an ordinary art teacher, but he encouraged Rodin to be faithful to the real artistic feeling from the beginning, instead of following academic dogma. Perhaps it was this teaching that influenced Rodin's life. During this period, he often went to the Louvre to copy the famous paintings of the masters. Unable to afford oil paints, Rodin transferred to a sculpture class. Le Cork introduced him to Bayeux, a famous French animal sculptor at that time, which gave him a good basic training. After three years of hard and diligent study, Rodin is full of ambition and ready to enter the Paris Academy of Fine Arts. Le Cork introduced Rodin to Mandron, a famous sculptor at that time, and asked him to sign Rodin's application for admission fee as a referee, but it was useless. Rodin was defeated. I still lost the election the next year. In the third year, an old host simply wrote next to Rodin's name: "I have no talent in my life, and it is a waste to continue applying." In this way, the future European sculptor was rejected by the Paris Academy of Fine Arts forever. This is a heavy blow to young Rodin who is eager to become a sculptor.
A bigger blow followed, and Rodin's sister Mary died of illness. Rodin's spirit completely collapsed under this double blow, and he resolutely embarked on the road of his sister and became a monk. However, Rodin's strong body provided him with endless desires, among which the desire for creation ignited an uncontrollable flame in an artist's heart, which made Rodin, who was equally devout to God and art, fall into inner contradictions and pains. Emma, the kind and wise abbot, saw Rodin's thoughts from his depressed expression. He created conditions for Rodin to have the opportunity to paint and carve. When he saw that Rodin was really talented, he persuaded Rodin to return to the secular world, continue his sculpture career and "serve God with art".
Rodin returned to Laycock and began his career of self-study while working. Unable to afford a model, he hired a flat-headed beggar named Bibi as his model. The ugliness of the beggar showed Rodin that there was sadness and desolation in his gaunt face that only human beings had. Therefore, the beauty and ugliness of life and art have different meanings in Rodin's eyes. When he creates, he pays attention to the expression of light on the surface of his works, and integrates the ideological connotation he wants to express into his works, making sculpture a powerful language, and people's thoughts and feelings far exceed their visual feelings. This artistic concept is exactly what the master Michelangelo pursued in his later years, and it was first shown in Rodin's The Man with the Broken Nose more than 300 years later, and it has been the source of their soul and charm all their lives.
Rodin is not only a master of sculpture, but also a great teacher. His students or assistants, even if they only had contacts, were deeply influenced by Rodin in art, but Rodin, as a teacher, never bound his students from the artistic point of view, so his students all matured and stood out, forming their own unique style. They learn from Rodin's creative spirit, so many of them are excellent, and some of them will become famous teachers in the future. Rodin's life is a life of being attacked and ridiculed, and also a life of being understood and supported by others. But he always faces all this correctly with great personality. Rodin climbed all his life and finally reached another peak after Michelangelo. Rodin firmly believed that "art is emotion". All his works have proved this concept and profoundly revealed the rich feelings of human beings. In this respect, Rodin is the most outstanding master of romantic sculpture. However, his greatness lies in his profound thoughts. He prefers tragic themes and is good at discovering strength and beauty from breaking. This makes his art have a profound character, which is both touching and inspiring. From this point of view, Rodin has transcended romanticism, transcended the times and regions, and become a bright superstar in the historical galaxy. He sympathized with the working people at the bottom, loved the motherland, and devoted his life to the persistent pursuit of art and thinking hard about all kinds of pains in life. He initiated a brand-new era and created a brand-new artistic technique. The ideological and spiritual charm embodied in his works will always bring people a profound sense of beauty and inspire people to keep thinking.
Third, the historical value of Rodin
You can notice that the 300 years from Michelangelo's last masterpiece "Mourning Christ" to Rodin's first confident work "Bronze Age" are full of man-made works. After Rodin, the world sculpture took on a new look, among which Mayol, Budel and Broncusi all had great influence on modern sculpture. They all worked in Rodin's studio. This is Rodin's great contribution to modern sculpture and even modern art.
Rodin left such a suggestion in Rodin's Art Theory: "Love ancient masters, absolutely believe in nature and work tirelessly." "Think carefully about the form." "Be clear about the main aspects." "Imagine that there are many forms pointing to you." "All vitality gushes from a center and extends from the inside out." "When drawing, pay attention to three-dimensional lines, not plane lines, because three-dimensional lines determine the outline." "Try to move, love, hope, tremble and live." "Be a man first, then an artist!"
Rodin's artistic ideas are the same as those of phidias and Michelangelo. These suggestions left by him have become the classic rules for sculptors to learn. These are Rodin's experiences, Rodin's experience in sculpture and even art, and Rodin's great contribution to the development of sculpture art.
As the last sculptor of classicism, his works won the appreciation of the audience with exquisite expression. In the long history, only phidias and Michelangelo can compare with him. At the same time, Rodin, as the father of modern sculpture, opened up a new situation of modern sculpture. In his countless unknown works, he has a lot of exploration of modern art. In the history of modern sculpture, three famous sculptors all studied under him.
About the author: Xia Jingyang (1977-a native of Wuhan, Hubei Province, 200 1 began to teach at Wuhan University of Science and Technology. In 2006, he obtained a master's degree in sculpture from Hubei Academy of Fine Arts and a qualification certificate for urban sculpture creation and design. He is currently an associate professor of Wuhan University of Science and Technology, a member of China Sculpture Society and a member of Hubei Aesthetic Education Research Association.