,,art ,illustration3 ,copyright1 #aiab by ,small1 ,maynard and ,company1 ,inc4 ,,art ,,by ,,auguste ,,rodin ,,translated ,,from ,,the ,,french ,,of ,,paul ,,gsell ,,by ,,mrs4 ,,romilly ,,fedden ,,with #ajf ,,illustrations ,,in ,,half-,,tone ,,and ,,photogravure ,illustration ,,boston ,,small1 ,,maynard ,,company ,,publishers ,copyright1 #aiab ,,by ,,small1 ,,maynard ,,company 7,,incorporated7 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,illustration3 ,,auguste ,,rodin ,from a photograph by ,edouard ,j4 ,steichen1 #aijg ,,preface ,not far from ,paris1 on the ,seine1 near ,meudon1 is a hamlet bearing the delightful name of ,val-,fleury4 ,crowning the little hill above this village rises a group of buildings which in their charm and originality at once attract interest4 ,you might almost guess that they belonged to an artist1 and it is there1 in fact1 that ,auguste ,rodin has made his home4 ,approaching1 you find that the main buildings are three4 ,the first1 a ,louis ,,xiii4 pavilion of red brick and freestone with a high-gabled roof1 serves as his dwelling4 ,close by stands a great rotunda1 entered through a columned portico1 which is the one that in #aijj sheltered the special exhibition of ,rodin's work at the angle of the ,pont de l',alma in ,paris2 as it pleased him1 he had it reerected upon this new site and uses it as his atelier4 ,a little further on at the edge of the hill1 which here falls steeply away1 you see an eighteenth-century chteau--or rather only a faade--whose fine portal1 under a triangular pediment1 frames a wrought-iron gate2 of this1 more later4 ,this group1 so diverse in character1 is set in the midst of an idyllic orchard4 ,the spot is certainly one of the most enchanting in the environs of ,paris4 ,nature has done much for it1 and the sculptor who settled here has beautified it with all the embellishments that his taste could suggest4 ,last year1 at the close of a beautiful day in ,may1 as ,i walked with ,auguste ,rodin beneath the trees that shade his charming hill1 ,i confided to him my wish to write1 from his dictation1 his ideas upon ,art4 8,you are an odd fellow10 he said4 8,so you are still interested in ,art6 ,it is an interest that is out-of-date4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,flight ,,of ,,love ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,boston ,museum of ,fine ,arts 8,to-day1 artists and those who love artists seem like fossils4 ,imagine a megatherium or a diplodocus stalking the streets of ,paris6 ,there you have the impression that we must make upon our contemporaries4 ,ours is an epoch of engineers and of manufacturers1 not one of artists4 8,the search in modern life is for utility2 the endeavor is to improve existence materially4 ,every day1 science invents new processes for the feeding1 clothing1 or transportation of man2 she manufactures cheaply inferior products in order to give adulterated luxuries to the greatest number--though it is true that she has also made real improvements in all that ministers to our daily wants4 ,but it is no longer a question of spirit1 of thought1 of dreams4 ,art is dead4 8,art is contemplation4 ,it is the pleasure of the mind which searches into nature and which there divines the spirit by which ,nature herself is animated4 ,it is the joy of the intellect which sees clearly into the ,universe and which recreates it1 with conscientious vision4 ,art is the most sublime mission of man1 since it is the expression of thought seeking to understand the world and to make it understood4 8,but to-day1 mankind believes itself able to do without ,art4 ,it does not wish to meditate1 to contemplate1 to dream2 it wishes to enjoy physically4 ,the heights and the depths of truth are indifferent to it2 it is content to satisfy its bodily appetites4 ,mankind to-day is brutish--it is not the stuff of which artists are made4 8,art1 moreover1 is taste4 ,it is the reflection of the artist's heart upon all the objects that he creates4 ,it is the smile of the human soul upon the house and upon the furnishing4 ,it is the charm of thought and of sentiment embodied in all that is of use to man4 ,but how many of our contemporaries feel the necessity of taste in house or furnishing8 ,formerly1 in old ,france1 ,art was everywhere4 ,the smallest bourgeois1 even the peasant1 made use only of articles which pleased the eye4 ,their chairs1 their tables1 their pitchers and their pots were beautiful4 ,to-day ,art is banished from daily life4 ,people say that the useful need not be beautiful4 ,all is ugly1 all is made in haste and without grace by stupid machines4 ,the artist is regarded as an antagonist4 ,ah1 my dear ,gsell1 you wish to jot down an artist's musings4 ,let me look at you6 ,you really are an extraordinary man60 ,illustration3 ,,auguste ,,rodin ,from a drawing by ,william ,rothenstein ,reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art 8,i know10 ,i said1 8that ,art is the least concern of our epoch4 ,but ,i trust that this book may be a protest against the ideas of to-day4 ,i trust that your voice may awaken our contemporaries and help them to understand the crime they commit in losing the best part of our national inheritance--an intense love of ,art and ,beauty40 8,may the gods hear you60 ,rodin answered4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we were walking along the rotunda which serves as the atelier4 ,there under the peristyle many charming bits of antique sculpture have found shelter4 ,a little vestal1 half-veiled1 faces a grave orator wrapped in his toga1 while not far from them a cupid rides triumphant upon a great sea-monster4 ,in the midst of these figures two ,corinthian columns of charming grace raise their shafts of rose-colored marble4 ,the collection here of these precious fragments shows the devotion of my host to the art of ,greece and ,rome4 ,two swans were drowsing upon the bank of a deep pool4 ,as we passed they unwound their long necks and hissed with anger4 ,their savageness prompted me to the remark that this bird lacks intelligence1 but ,rodin replied1 laughing3 8,they have that of line1 and that is enough60 ,as we strolled on1 small cylindrical altars in marble1 carved with garlands1 appeared here and there in the shade4 ,beneath a bower1 clothed with the luxuriant green of a sophora1 a young ,mithra without a head sacrificed a sacred bull4 ,at a green crossway an ,eros slept upon his lion-skin1 sleep having overcome him who tames the beasts4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,creation ,,of ,,man1 ,,or ,,adam ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art 8,does it not seem to you10 ,rodin asked1 8that verdure is the most appropriate setting for antique sculpture8 ,this little drowsy ,eros--would you not say that he is the god of the garden8 ,his dimpled flesh is brother to this transparent and luxuriant foliage4 ,the ,greek artists loved nature so well that their works bathe in it as in their element40 ,let us notice this attitude of mind4 ,we place statues in a garden to beautify the garden4 ,rodin places them there that they may be beautified by the garden4 ,for him1 ,nature is always the sovereign mistress and the infinite perfection4 ,a ,greek amphora1 in rose-colored clay1 which in all probability had lain for centuries under the sea1 so encrusted is it with charming sea-growths1 lies upon the ground at the foot of a box-tree4 ,it seems to have been forgotten there1 and yet it could not have been presented to our eyes with more grace--for what is natural is the supreme of taste4 ,further on we see a torso of ,venus4 ,the breasts are hidden by a handkerchief knotted behind the back4 ,involuntarily one thinks of some ,tartuffe who1 prompted by false modesty1 has felt it his duty to conceal these charms4 8,par de pareils objts les mes sont blesses ,et cela fait venir de coupables penses40 ,but surely my host has nothing in common with ,molire's prude4 ,he himself explained his reason4 8,i tied that around the breast of this statue10 he said1 8because that part is less beautiful than the rest40 ,then1 through a door which he unbolted1 he led me on to the terrace where he has raised the eighteenth-century faade of which ,i have spoken4 ,seen close to1 this noble fragment of architecture is imposing4 ,it is a fine portal raised upon eight steps4 ,on the pediment1 which is supported by columns1 ,themis surrounded by ,loves is carved4 ,illustration3 ,,eve ,by ,rodin 8,formerly10 said my host1 8this beautiful chteau rose on the slope of a neighboring hill at ,issy4 ,i often admired it as ,i passed4 ,but the land speculators bought it and tore it down40 ,as he spoke his eyes flashed with anger4 8,you cannot imagine10 he continued1 8what horror seized me when ,i saw this crime committed4 ,to tear down this glorious building6 ,it affected me as much as though these criminals had mangled the fair body of a virgin before my eyes60 ,rodin spoke these words in a tone of deep devotion4 ,you felt that the firm white body of the young girl was to him the masterpiece of creation1 the marvel of marvels6 ,he continued3 8,i asked the sacrilegious rascals not to scatter the materials and to sell them to me4 ,they consented4 ,i had all the stones brought here to put them together again as well as ,i could4 ,unfortunately1 as you see1 ,i have as yet raised only one wall40 ,in fact1 in his impatience to enjoy this keen artistic pleasure1 ,rodin has not followed the usual and logical method which consists in raising all parts of a building at once4 ,up to the present time he has rebuilt only one side of the chteau1 and when you approach to look through the iron entrance gate1 you see only broken ground where lines of stones indicate the plan of the building to be4 ,truly a chteau of dreams6 ,an artist's chteau6 8,verily10 murmured my host1 8those old architects were great men1 especially when one compares them with their unworthy successors of to-day60 ,so speaking1 he drew me to a point on the terrace from which the outline of the faade seemed to him most beautiful4 8,see10 he cried1 8how harmoniously the silhouette cuts the silvery sky1 and how it dominates the valley which lies below us40 ,lost in ecstasy1 his loving gaze enveloped this monument of a day that is past and all the landscape4 ,illustration3 ,,eve ,by ,rodin ,from the height on which we stood our eyes took in an immense expanse4 ,there1 below1 the ,seine1 mirroring long lines of tall poplars1 traces a great loop of silver as it rushes towards the solid bridge at ,svres4444 ,still further1 the white spire of ,saint-,cloud against a green hillside1 the blue heights of ,suresnes and ,mont ,valerian seem powdered with a mist of dreams4 ,to the right1 ,paris1 gigantic ,paris1 spreads away to the horizon her great seed plot1 sown with innumerable houses1 so small in the distance that one might hold them in the palm of one's hand4 ,paris1 vision at once monstrous and sublime1 colossal crucible wherein bubbles unceasingly that strange mixture of pains and pleasures1 of active forces and of fevered ideals6 ,,paul ,,gsell4 ,,contents ,,page ,,preface #e ,,chapter ,i ,,realism ,,in ,,art #be ,,chapter ,,ii ,,to ,,the ,,artist ,,all ,,in ,,nature ,,is ,,beautiful #cg ,,chapter ,,iii ,,modelling #ec ,,chapter ,,iv ,,movement ,,in ,,art #fe ,,chapter ,v ,,drawing ,,and ,,color #ic ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,beauty ,,of ,,women #aaa ,,chapter ,,vii ,,of ,,yesterday ,,and ,,of ,,to-,,day #aba ,,chapter ,,viii ,,thought ,,in ,,art #aea ,,chapter ,,ix ,,mystery ,,in ,,art #age ,,chapter ,x ,,phidias ,,and ,,michael ,,angelo #aia ,,chapter ,,xi ,,at ,,the ,,louvre #baa ,,chapter ,,xii ,,on ,,the ,,usefulness ,,of ,,the ,,artist #bbg ,,translations #bdi ,,index #bee ,,illustrations ,,eternal ,,spring4 ,by ,rodin ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page ,,auguste ,,rodin4 ,from a photograph by ,edouard ,j4 ,steichen1 #aijg #e ,,the ,,flight ,,of ,,love4 ,by ,rodin #f ,,auguste ,,rodin4 ,from a drawing by ,william ,rothenstein #h ,,the ,,creation ,,of ,,man1 ,,or ,,adam4 ,by ,rodin #aj ,,eve4 ,by ,rodin #ab ,,eve4 ,by ,rodin #ad ,,plaster ,,casts ,,of ,,the ,,gate ,,of ,,hell4 ,by ,rodin #bf ,,study ,,for ,a ,,figure4 ,by ,rodin #bh ,,study ,,for ,a ,,hand4 ,by ,rodin #bh ,,study4 ,by ,rodin #cj ,,study4 ,by ,rodin #cj ,,invocation4 ,by ,rodin #cb ,,study4 ,by ,rodin #cd ,,study4 ,by ,rodin #cd ,,the ,,old ,,courtesan4 ,by ,rodin #ch ,,the ,,magdalene4 ,by ,donatello #ch ,a ,,hand ,,in ,,bronze4 ,by ,rodin #dj ,,sebastian1 ,,fool ,,of ,,philip ,,iv4 ,by ,velasquez #db ,,the ,,man ,,with ,,the ,,hoe4 ,by ,millet #dd ,,the ,,dana,d4 ,by ,rodin #eb ,,venus ,,di ,,medici #ed ,,antique ,,torso #ef ,a ,,drawing4 ,by ,michael ,angelo4 ,see page #ih #ef ,,crouching ,,venus #eh ,,faun4 ,by ,praxiteles #fj ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,iron4 ,by ,rodin #fd ,,man ,,walking4 ,by ,rodin #ff ,,the ,,tempest4 ,by ,rodin #fh ,,marshal ,,ney4 ,by ,rude #gj ,,saint ,,john ,,the ,,baptist4 ,by ,rodin #gb ,,saint ,,john ,,the ,,baptist4 ,by ,rodin4 7,two different aspects7 #gd ,,europa4 ,italian ,school of the ,fifteenth ,century #gf ,,epsom ,,races4 ,by ,gericault #gf ,,the ,,embarkation ,,for ,,the ,,island ,,of ,,cythera4 ,by ,watteau #gh ,,the ,,marseillaise4 ,by ,rude #hj ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais4 ,by ,rodin #hb ,,eustache ,,de ,,saint-,,pierre4 ,by ,rodin #hd ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais4 ,by ,rodin #hd ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais4 ,by ,rodin #hf ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais4 ,by ,rodin #hf ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais4 ,by ,rodin #hh ,,cupid ,,and ,,psyche4 ,by ,rodin #ib ,,the ,,embrace4 ,study-sketch by ,rodin #id ,,study ,,of ,,the ,,nude4 ,by ,rodin #id ,,torso ,,of ,a ,,woman4 ,by ,rodin #ih ,a ,,drawing4 ,by ,michael ,angelo #ajj ,a ,,drawing4 ,by ,rembrandt #ajb ,,study4 ,by ,rodin #ajd ,,study ,,for ,a ,,figure4 ,by ,rodin #ajd ,,triton ,,and ,,nereid4 ,by ,rodin #ajf ,,the ,,caryatid4 ,by ,rodin #ajf ,,the ,,bather4 ,by ,rodin #aaj ,,torso ,,of ,a ,,woman4 ,by ,rodin #aab ,,torso ,,of ,a ,,woman4 ,by ,rodin #aab ,,pygmalion ,,and ,,galatea4 ,by ,rodin #aad ,,study ,,of ,,hanako1 ,,the ,,japanese ,,actress4 ,by ,rodin #aaf ,,study ,,of ,,the ,,nude4 ,by ,rodin #aaf ,,madame ,x4 ,by ,rodin #aah ,,mlle4 ,,brongniart4 ,by ,houdon #abd ,,egyptian ,,sparrow-,,hawk4 ,see page #ahj #abd ,,voltaire4 ,by ,houdon #abf ,,mirabeau4 ,by ,houdon #abf ,,francis ,i4 ,by ,titian #acj ,,henri ,,rochefort4 ,by ,rodin #ach ,,jean-,,paul ,,laurens4 ,by ,rodin #adj ,,jules ,,dalou4 ,by ,rodin #adj ,,puvis ,,de ,,chavannes4 ,by ,rodin #adb ,,the ,,sculptor ,,falgui,,re4 ,by ,rodin #add ,,study ,,for ,a ,,head1 ,,presumably ,,madame ,r4 ,by ,rodin #adf ,,study ,,head1 ,,for ,,the ,,statue ,,of ,,balzac4 ,by ,rodin #adf ,,the ,,statue ,,of ,,victor ,,hugo4 ,by ,rodin #aed ,,bust ,,of ,,mlle4 ,,claudel 7,,la ,,pens,e74 ,by ,rodin #aef ,,the ,,shipwreck ,,of ,,don ,,juan4 ,by ,delacroix #aeh ,,ugolino4 ,by ,rodin #afj ,,illusion1 ,,the ,,daughter ,,of ,,icarus4 ,by ,rodin #afb ,,nymph ,,and ,,faun4 ,by ,rodin #afd ,,the ,,centauress4 ,by ,rodin #aff ,,italian ,,landscape4 ,by ,corot #afh ,,an ,,old ,,man4 ,by ,rembrandt #agj ,,laura ,,dianti4 ,by ,titian #agj ,,the ,,thinker4 ,by ,rodin #agd ,,the ,,hand ,,of ,,god4 ,by ,rodin #agf ,,the ,,statue ,,of ,,balzac4 ,by ,rodin #agh ,,the ,,gleaners4 ,by ,millet #ahb ,,the ,,three ,,fates4 ,from the ,parthenon #ahd ,,the ,,kiss4 ,by ,rodin #ahf ,,bust ,,of ,,madame ,,morla ,,vicuna4 ,by ,rodin #ahh ,a ,,captive4 ,by ,michael ,angelo #aih ,,the ,,three ,,graces4 ,by ,raphael #bjj ,,diadumenes4 ,by ,polycletus #bab ,,venus ,,of ,,milo #bad ,,the ,,victory ,,of ,,samothrace #baf ,a ,,captive4 ,by ,michael ,angelo #bah ,,la ,,piet4 ,by ,michael ,angelo #bbb ,,orpheus ,,and ,,eurydice4 ,by ,rodin #bbf ,,la ,,france4 ,by ,rodin #bbh ,,the ,,broken ,,lily4 ,by ,rodin #bcj ,,ceres4 ,by ,rodin #bcd ,,the ,,torn ,,glove4 ,by ,titian #bcf ,,victor ,,hugo ,,offering ,,his ,,lyre ,,to ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,paris4 ,by ,puvis de ,chavannes #bch ,,mother ,,and ,,babe4 ,by ,rodin #bdj ,,sister ,,and ,,brother4 ,by ,rodin #bdb ,,bust ,,of ,,mr4 ,,thomas ,,fortune ,,ryan4 ,by ,rodin #bdd ,,chapter ,i ,,realism ,,in ,,art ,at the end of the long rue de l',universit1 close to the ,champ-de-,mars1 in a corner1 so deserted and monastic that you might think yourself in the provinces1 is the ,dpt des ,marbres4 ,here in a great grass-grown court sleep heavy grayish blocks1 presenting in places fresh breaks of frosted whiteness4 ,these are the marbles reserved by the ,state for the sculptors whom she honors with her orders4 ,along one side of this courtyard is a row of a dozen ateliers which have been granted to different sculptors4 ,a little artist city1 marvellously tranquil1 it seems the fraternity house of a new order4 ,rodin occupies two of these cells2 in one he houses the plaster cast of his ,gate of ,hell1 astonishing even in its unfinished state1 and in the other he works4 ,more than once ,i have been to see him here towards evening1 when his day of toil drew to its close1 and taking a chair1 ,i have waited for the moment when the night would oblige him to stop1 and ,i have studied him at his work4 ,the desire to profit by the last rays of daylight threw him into a fever4 ,i see him now1 rapidly shaping his little figures from the clay4 ,it is a game which he enjoys in the intervals of the more patient care which he gives to his big figures4 ,these sketches flung off on the instant delight him1 because they permit him to seize the fleeting beauty of a gesture whose fugitive truth would escape deeper and longer study4 ,his method of work is singular4 ,in his atelier several nude models walk about or rest4 ,illustration3 ,,plaster ,,casts ,,of ,,the ,,gate ,,of ,,hell ,by ,rodin ,rodin pays them to furnish him constantly with the sight of the nude moving with all the freedom of life4 ,he observes them without ceasing1 and it is thus that he has long since become familiar with the sight of muscles in movement4 ,the nude1 which for us moderns is an exceptional revelation and which even for the sculptors is generally only an apparition whose length is limited to a sitting1 has become to ,rodin a customary sight4 ,the constant familiarity with the human body which the ancient ,greeks acquired in watching the games--the wrestling1 the throwing of the discus1 the boxing1 the gymnastics1 and the foot races--and which permitted their artists to talk naturally on the subject of the nude1 the creator of the ,penseur has made sure of by the continual presence of unclothed human beings who come and go before his eyes4 ,in this way he has learned to read the feelings as expressed in every part of the body4 ,the face is generally considered as the only mirror of the soul2 the mobility of the features of the face seems to us the only exterior expression of the spiritual life4 ,in reality there is not a muscle of the body which does not express the inner variations of feeling4 ,all speak of joy or of sorrow1 of enthusiasm or of despair1 of serenity or of madness4 ,outstretched arms1 an unconstrained body1 smile with as much sweetness as the eyes or the lips4 ,but to be able to interpret every aspect of the flesh1 one must have been drawn patiently to spell out and to read the pages of this beautiful book4 ,the masters of the antique did this1 aided by the customs of their civilization4 ,rodin does this in our own day by the force of his own will4 ,he follows his models with his earnest gaze1 he silently savors the beauty of the life which plays through them1 he admires the suppleness of this young woman who bends to pick up a chisel1 the delicate grace of this other who raises her arms to gather her golden hair above her head1 the nervous vigor of a man who walks across the room2 and when this one or that makes a movement that pleases him1 he instantly asks that the pose be kept4 ,quick1 he seizes the clay1 and a little figure is under way2 then with equal haste he passes to another1 which he fashions in the same manner4 ,illustration3 ,,study ,,for ,a ,,hand ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,illustration3 ,,study ,,for ,a ,,figure ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,one evening when the night had begun to darken the atelier with heavy shadows1 ,i had a talk with the master on his method4 8,what astonishes me in you10 said ,i1 8is that you work quite differently from your confrres4 ,i know many of them and have seen them at work4 ,they make the model mount upon a pedestal called the throne1 and they tell him to take such or such a pose4 ,generally they bend or stretch his arms and legs to suit them1 they bow his head or straighten his body exactly as though he were a lay figure4 ,then they set to work4 ,you1 on the contrary1 wait till your models take an interesting attitude1 and then you reproduce it4 ,so much so that it is you who seem to be at their orders rather than they at yours40 ,rodin1 who was engaged in wrapping his figurines in damp cloths1 answered quietly3 8,i am not at their orders1 but at those of ,nature6 ,my confrres doubtless have their reasons for working as you have said4 ,but in thus doing violence to nature and treating human beings like puppets1 they run the risk of producing lifeless and artificial work4 8,as for me1 seeker after truth and student of life as ,i am1 ,i shall take care not to follow their example4 ,i take from life the movements ,i observe1 but it is not ,i who impose them4 8,even when a subject which ,i am working on compels me to ask a model for a certain fixed pose1 ,i indicate it to him1 but ,i carefully avoid touching him to place him in the position1 for ,i will reproduce only what reality spontaneously offers me4 8,i obey ,nature in everything1 and ,i never pretend to command her4 ,my only ambition is to be servilely faithful to her40 8,nevertheless10 ,i answered with some malice1 8it is not nature exactly as it is that you evoke in your work40 ,illustration3 ,,study ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,illustration3 ,,study ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,he stopped short1 the damp cloth in his hands4 8,yes1 exactly as it is60 he replied1 frowning4 8,you are obliged to alter--0 8,not a jot60 8,but1 after all1 the proof that you do change it is this1 that the cast would give not at all the same impression as your work40 ,he reflected an instant and said3 8,that is so6 ,because the cast is less true than my sculpture6 8,it would be impossible for any model to keep an animated pose during all the time that it would take to make a cast from it4 ,but ,i keep in my mind the ensemble of the pose and ,i insist that the model shall conform to my memory of it4 ,more than that1--the cast only reproduces the exterior2 ,i reproduce1 besides that1 the spirit which is certainly also a part of nature4 8,i see all the truth1 and not only that of the outside4 8,i accentuate the lines which best express the spiritual state that ,i interpret40 ,as he spoke he showed me on a pedestal near by one of his most beautiful statues1 a young man kneeling1 raising suppliant arms to heaven4 ,all his being is drawn out with anguish4 ,his body is thrown backwards4 ,the breast heaves1 the throat is tense with despair1 and the hands are thrown out towards some mysterious being to which they long to cling4 8,look60 he said to me2 8,i have accented the swelling of the muscles which express distress4 ,here1 here1 there--,i have exaggerated the straining of the tendons which indicate the outburst of prayer40 ,and1 with a gesture1 he underlined the most vigorous parts of his work4 8,i have you1 ,master60 ,i cried ironically2 8you say yourself that you have accented1 accentuated1 exaggerated4 ,you see1 then1 that you have changed nature40 ,he began to laugh at my obstinacy4 ,illustration3 ,,invocation ,by ,rodin 8,no10 he replied4 8,i have not changed it4 ,or1 rather1 if ,i have done it1 it was without suspecting it at the time4 ,the feeling which influenced my vision showed me ,nature as ,i have copied her4 8,if ,i had wished to modify what ,i saw and to make it more beautiful1 ,i should have produced nothing good40 ,an instant later he continued3 8,i grant you that the artist does not see ,nature as she appears to the vulgar1 because his emotion reveals to him the hidden truths beneath appearances4 8,but1 after all1 the only principle in ,art is to copy what you see4 ,dealers in sthetics to the contrary1 every other method is fatal4 ,there is no recipe for improving nature4 8,the only thing is to see4 8,oh1 doubtless a mediocre man copying nature will never produce a work of art2 because he really looks without seeing1 and though he may have noted each detail minutely1 the result will be flat and without character4 ,but the profession of artist is not meant for the mediocre1 and to them the best counsels will never succeed in giving talent4 8,the artist1 on the contrary1 sees2 that is to say1 that his eye1 grafted on his heart1 reads deeply into the bosom of ,nature4 8,that is why the artist has only to trust to his eyes40 ,illustration3 ,,study ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,illustration3 ,,study ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,,chapter ,,ii ,,to ,,the ,,artist ,,all ,,in ,,nature ,,is ,,beautiful ,in ,rodin's great atelier at ,meudon stands a cast of that statuette1 so magnificently ugly1 which the great sculptor wrought upon the text of ,villon's poem1 ,la ,belle ,heaulmire4 ,the courtesan1 once radiant with youth and grace1 is now repulsive with age and decrepitude4 ,once proud of her beauty1 she is now filled with shame at her ugliness4 8,ha1 vieillesse felonne et fire1 ,pourquoi m'as tu si tt abattue8 ,qui me tient que je ne me fire 7frappe7 ,et qu' ce coup je ne me tue60#a ,footnote #a3 ,see page #bdi4 ,the sculptor has followed the poet step by step4 ,the old hag1 more shrivelled than a mummy1 mourns her physical decay4 ,bent double1 crouching on her haunches1 she gazes despairingly upon her breasts so pitiably shrunken1 upon her hideously wrinkled body1 upon her arms and legs more knotty than vine stocks4 8,quand je pense1 las6 au bon temps1 ,quelle fus1 quelle devenue1 ,quand me regarde toute nue ,et je me vois si trs change4 ,pauvre1 sche1 maigre1 menue1 ,je suis presque tout enrage6 ,qu'est devenue ce front poli1 ,ces cheveux blonds4444 ,ces gentes paules menues1 ,petite tetins1 hanches charnues1 ,eleves1 propres1 faictisse 7faites souhait7 ,a tenir d'amoureuses lices2 ,c'est d'humaine beaut l'issue6 ,les bras courts et les mains contraictes 7contractes71 ,les paules toutes bossue4 ,mamelles1 quoi6 toutes retraites 7desseches7 ,telles les hanches et que les tettes6 ,quant aux cuisses1 ,cuisses ne sont plus1 mais cuissettes ,griveles comme saucisses60#b ,footnote #b3 ,see page #bdi4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,old ,,courtesan ,by ,rodin ,illustration3 ,,the ,,magdalene ,by ,donatello ,the sculptor does not fall below the poet in realism4 ,on the contrary1 his work1 in the horror which it inspires1 is perhaps even more impressive than the truculent verses of ,matre ,villon4 ,the skin hangs in flaccid folds upon the skeleton2 the ribs stand out beneath the parchment that covers them1 and the whole figure seems to totter1 to tremble1 to shrivel1 to shrink away4 ,yet from this spectacle1 at once grotesque and heartrending1 a great sorrow breathes4 ,for what we have before us is the infinite distress of a poor foolish soul which1 enamoured of eternal youth and beauty1 looks on helpless at the ignominious disgrace of its fleshly envelope2 it is the antithesis of the spiritual being which demands endless joy and of the body which wastes away1 decays1 ends in nothingness4 ,the substance perishes1 the flesh dies1 but dreams and desires are immortal4 ,this is what ,rodin has wished to make us understand4 ,and ,i do not think that any other artist has ever pictured old age with such savage crudity1 except one4 ,in the ,baptistery at ,florence you see upon an altar a strange statue by ,donatello--an old woman naked1 or at least draped only in the long1 thin hair which clings foully to her ruined body4 ,it is ,saint ,magdalene in the desert1 bowed with age1 offering to ,god the cruel mortifications to which she subjects her body as a punishment for the care which she formerly lavished upon it4 ,the savage sincerity of the ,florentine master is so great that it is not even surpassed by ,rodin himself4 ,but1 aside from this1 the sentiment of the two works differs completely1 for1 while ,saint ,magdalene in her voluntary renunciation seems to grow more radiant as she sees herself growing more repulsive1 the old ,heaulmire is terrified at finding herself like a very corpse4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,hand ,,in ,,bronze ,by ,rodin ,the modern sculpture is1 therefore1 much more tragic than the older work4 ,one day1 having studied this figure in the atelier for some moments in silence1 ,i said3 8,master1 no one admires this astonishing figure more than ,i1 but ,i hope you will not be annoyed if ,i tell you the effect it produces upon many of the visitors to the ,muse du ,luxembourg1 especially upon the women40 8,i shall be much obliged to you if you will40 8,well1 the public generally turn away from it1 crying1 #8,oh1 how ugly it is6' and ,i have often seen women cover their eyes with their hands to shut out the sight40 ,rodin laughed heartily4 8,my work must be eloquent10 he said1 8to make such a vivid impression1 and doubtless these are people who dread stern philosophic truths4 8,but what solely matters to me is the opinion of people of taste1 and ,i have been delighted to gain their approbation for my ,vieille ,heaulmire4 ,i am like that ,roman singer who replied to the jeers of the populace3 ,equitibus cano4 ,i sing only for the nobles6 that is to say1 for the connoisseurs4 8,the vulgar readily imagine that what they consider ugly in existence is not fit subject for the artist4 ,they would like to forbid us to represent what displeases and offends them in nature4 8,it is a great error on their part4 8,what is commonly called ugliness in nature can in art become full of great beauty4 8,in the domain of fact we call ugly whatever is deformed1 whatever is unhealthy1 whatever suggests the idea of disease1 of debility1 or of suffering1 whatever is contrary to regularity1 which is the sign and condition of health and strength3 a hunchback is ugly1 one who is bandy-legged is ugly1 poverty in rags is ugly4 ,illustration3 ,,sebastian1 ,,fool ,,of ,,philip ,,iv ,by ,velasquez 8,ugly also are the soul and the conduct of the immoral man1 of the vicious and criminal man1 of the abnormal man who is harmful to society2 ugly the soul of the parricide1 of the traitor1 of the unscrupulously ambitious4 8,and it is right that beings and objects from which we can expect only evil should be called by such an odious epithet4 ,but let a great artist or a great writer make use of one or the other of these uglinesses1 instantly it is transfigured3 with a touch of his fairy wand he has turned it into beauty2 it is alchemy2 it is enchantment6 8,let ,velasquez paint ,sebastian1 the dwarf of ,philippe ,,iv4 ,he endows him with such a touching gaze that we instantly read in it all the painful secret of this poor afflicted creature1 forced1 for his livelihood1 to lower his human dignity1 to become a plaything1 a living bauble4 ,and the more poignant the martyrdom of the conscience lodged in this grotesque body1 the more beautiful is the artist's work4 8,let ,franois ,millet represent a peasant resting for a moment as he leans on the handle of his hoe1 a wretched man worn by fatigue1 baked by the sun1 as stupid as a beast of burden dulled by blows--he has only to put into the expression of this poor devil a sublime resignation to the suffering ordained by ,destiny1 to make this creature of a nightmare become for us the great symbol of all ,humanity4 8,let ,beaudelaire describe a festering corpse1 unclean1 viscid1 eaten by worms1 and let him but imagine his beloved mistress under this frightful aspect1 and nothing can equal in splendor his picture of this terrible juxtaposition of beauty which we could wish eternal and the atrocious disintegration which awaits it4 8,et pourtant vous serez semblable cette ordure1 ,a cette horrible infection4 ,etoile de mes yeux1 ,soleil de ma nature1 ,o mon ange et ma passion6 ,oui1 telle vous serez1 o la reine des ,grces ,aprs les derniers sacrements4 ,quand vous irez sous l'herbe et les floraisons grasses ,pourrir parmi les ossements4 ,alors1 o ma ,beaut1 dtes la vermine ,qui vous mangerez de baisers1 ,que j'ai gard la forme et l'essence divine ,de mes amours dcomposs6#c ,footnote #c3 ,see page #bej4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,man ,,with ,,the ,,hoe ,by ,millet 8,it is the same when ,shakespeare depicts ,iago or ,richard ,,iii41 when ,racine paints ,nero and ,narcissus2 moral ugliness when interpreted by minds so clear and penetrating becomes a marvellous theme of beauty4 8,in fact1 in art1 only that which has character is beautiful4 8,character is the essential truth of any natural object1 whether ugly or beautiful2 it is even what one might call a double truth1 for it is the inner truth translated by the outer truth2 it is the soul1 the feelings1 the ideas1 expressed by the features of a face1 by the gestures and actions of a human being1 by the tones of a sky1 by the lines of a horizon4 8,now1 to the great artist1 everything in nature has character2 for the unswerving directness of his observation searches out the hidden meaning of all things4 ,and that which is considered ugly in nature often presents more character than that which is termed beautiful1 because in the contractions of a sickly countenance1 in the lines of a vicious face1 in all deformity1 in all decay1 the inner truth shines forth more clearly than in features that are regular and healthy4 8,and as it is solely the power of character which makes for beauty in art1 it often happens that the uglier a being is in nature1 the more beautiful it becomes in art4 8,there is nothing ugly in art except that which is without character1 that is to say1 that which offers no outer or inner truth4 8,whatever is false1 whatever is artificial1 whatever seeks to be pretty rather than expressive1 whatever is capricious and affected1 whatever smiles without motive1 bends or struts without cause1 is mannered without reason2 all that is without soul and without truth2 all that is only a parade of beauty and grace2 all1 in short1 that lies1 is ugliness in art4 8,when an artist1 intending to improve upon nature1 adds green to the springtime1 rose to the sunrise1 carmine to young lips1 he creates ugliness because he lies4 8,when he softens the grimace of pain1 the shapelessness of age1 the hideousness of perversion1 when he arranges nature--veiling1 disguising1 tempering it to please the ignorant public--then he is creating ugliness because he fears the truth4 8,to any artist1 worthy of the name1 all in nature is beautiful1 because his eyes1 fearlessly accepting all exterior truth1 read there1 as in an open book1 all the inner truth4 8,he has only to look into a human face in order to read there the soul within--not a feature deceives him2 hypocrisy is as transparent as sincerity--the line of a forehead1 the least lifting of a brow1 the flash of an eye1 reveal to him all the secrets of a heart4 8,or he may study the hidden mind of the animal4 ,a mixture of feelings and of thoughts1 of dumb intelligences and of rudimentary affections1 he reads the whole humble moral life of the beast in its eyes and in its movements4 8,he is even the confidant of nature4 ,the trees1 the plants talk to him like friends4 ,the old gnarled oaks speak to him of their kindliness for the human race whom they protect beneath their sheltering branches4 ,the flowers commune with him by the gracious swaying of their stalks1 by the singing tones of their petals--each blossom amidst the grass is a friendly word addressed to him by nature4 8,for him life is an endless joy1 a perpetual delight1 a mad intoxication4 ,not that all seems good to him1 for suffering1 which must often come to those he loves and to himself1 cruelly contradicts his optimism4 ,but all is beautiful to him because he walks forever in the light of spiritual truth4 8,yes1 the great artist1 and by this ,i mean the poet as well as the painter and the sculptor1 finds even in suffering1 in the death of loved ones1 in the treachery of friends1 something which fills him with a voluptuous though tragic admiration4 8,at times his own heart is on the rack1 yet stronger than his pain is the bitter joy which he experiences in understanding and giving expression to that pain4 ,in all existence he clearly divines the purposes of ,destiny4 ,upon his own anguish1 upon his own gaping wounds1 he fixes the enthusiastic gaze of the man who has read the decrees of ,fate4 ,deceived by a beloved one1 he reels beneath the blow2 then1 standing firm1 he looks upon the traitor as a fine example of the base4 ,he salutes ingratitude as an experience which shall enrich his soul4 ,his ecstasy is terrifying at times1 but it is still happiness1 because it is the continual adoration of truth4 8,when he sees beings everywhere destroying each other2 when he sees all youth fading1 all strength failing1 all genius dying1 when he is face to face with the will which decreed these tragic laws1 more than ever he rejoices in his knowledge1 and1 seized anew by the passion for truth1 he is happy40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,dana,d ,by ,rodin ,,chapter ,,iii ,,modelling ,one late afternoon1 when ,i was with ,rodin in his atelier1 darkness set in while we talked4 8,have you ever looked at an antique statue by lamplight80 my host suddenly demanded4 8,no1 never10 ,i answered1 with some surprise4 8,i astonish you4 ,you seem to consider the idea of studying sculpture excepting by daylight as an odd whim4 ,of course you can get the effect as a whole better by daylight4 ,but1 wait a moment4 ,i want to show you a kind of experiment which will doubtless prove instructive40 ,he lighted a lamp as he spoke1 took it in his hand1 and led me towards a marble statue which stood upon a pedestal in a corner of the atelier4 ,it was a delightful little antique copy of the ,venus di ,medici4 ,rodin kept it there to stimulate his own inspiration while he worked4 8,come nearer10 he said4 ,holding the lamp at the side of the statue and as close as possible1 he threw the full light upon the body4 8,what do you notice80 he asked4 ,at the first glance ,i was extraordinarily struck by what was suddenly revealed to me4 ,the light so directed1 indeed1 disclosed numbers of slight projections and depressions upon the surface of the marble which ,i should never have suspected4 ,i said so to ,rodin4 8,good60 he cried approvingly2 then1 8,watch closely40 ,illustration3 ,,venus ,,di ,,medici ,at the same time he slowly turned the moving stand which supported the ,venus4 ,as he turned1 ,i still noticed in the general form of the body a multitude of almost imperceptible roughnesses4 ,what had at first seemed simple was really of astonishing complexity4 ,rodin threw up his head smiling4 8,is it not marvellous80 he cried4 8,confess that you did not expect to discover so much detail4 ,just look at these numberless undulations of the hollow which unites the body to the thigh4 ,notice all the voluptuous curvings of the hip4 ,and now1 here1 the adorable dimples along the loins40 ,he spoke in a low voice1 with the ardor of a devotee1 bending above the marble as if he loved it4 8,it is truly flesh60 he said4 ,and beaming1 he added3 8,you would think it moulded by kisses and caresses60 ,then1 suddenly1 laying his hand on the statue1 8,you almost expect1 when you touch this body1 to find it warm40 ,a few moments later he said3 8,well1 what do you think now of the opinion usually held on ,greek art8 ,they say--it is especially the academic school which has spread abroad this idea--that the ancients1 in their cult of the ideal1 despised the flesh as low and vulgar1 and that they refused to reproduce in their works the thousand details of material reality4 8,they pretend that the ancients wished to teach ,nature by creating an abstract beauty of simplified form which should appeal only to the intellect and not consent to flatter the senses4 ,and those who talk like this take examples which they imagine they find in antique art as their authority for correcting1 for emasculating nature1 reducing it to contours so dry1 cold1 and meagre that they have nothing in common with the truth4 8,you have just proved how much they are mistaken4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,drawing ,by ,michael ,angelo ,see page #ih ,illustration3 ,,antique ,,torso ,bibliothque ,nationale 8,without doubt the ,greeks with their powerfully logical minds instinctively accentuated the essential4 ,they accented the dominant traits of the human type2 nevertheless they never suppressed living detail4 ,they were satisfied to envelop it and melt it into the whole4 ,as they were enamoured of calm rhythms1 they involuntarily subjected all secondary reliefs which should disturb the serenity of a movement2 but they carefully refrained from entirely obliterating them4 8,they never made a method out of falsehood4 8,full of respect and love for ,nature1 they always represented her as they saw her4 ,and on every occasion they passionately testified their worship of the flesh4 ,for it is madness to believe that they despised it4 ,among no other people has the beauty of the human body excited a more sensuous tenderness4 ,a transport of ecstasy seems to hover over all the forms that they modelled4 8,thus is explained the unbelievable difference which separates the false academic ideal from ,greek art4 ,while among the ancients the generalization of lines is totalization1 a result made up of all the details1 the academic simplification is an impoverishment1 an empty bombastry4 ,while life animates and warms the palpitating muscles of the ,greek statues1 the inconsistent dolls of academic art look as if they were chilled by death40 ,he was silent for a time1 then-- 8,i will tell you a great secret4 ,do you know how the impression of actual life1 which we have just felt before that ,venus1 is produced8 8,by the science of modelling4 8,these words seem banal to you1 but you will soon gauge their importance4 8,the science of modelling was taught me by one ,constant1 who worked in the atelier where ,i made my dbut as a sculptor4 ,one day1 watching me model a capital ornamented with foliage--#8,rodin1' he said to me1 #8you are going about that in the wrong way4 ,all your leaves are seen flat4 ,that is why they do not look real4 ,make some with the tips pointed at you1 so that1 in seeing them1 one has the sensation of depth4' ,i followed his advice and ,i was astounded at the result that ,i obtained4 #8,always remember what ,i am about to tell you1' went on ,constant4 #8,henceforth1 when you carve1 never see the form in length1 but always in thickness4 ,never consider a surface except as the extremity of a volume1 as the point1 more or less large1 which it directs towards you4 ,in that way you will acquire the science of modelling4' ,illustration3 ,,crouching ,,venus 8,this principle was astonishingly fruitful to me4 ,i applied it to the execution of figures4 ,instead of imagining the different parts of a body as surfaces more or less flat1 ,i represented them as projectures of interior volumes4 ,i forced myself to express in each swelling of the torso or of the limbs the efflorescence of a muscle or of a bone which lay deep beneath the skin4 ,and so the truth of my figures1 instead of being merely superficial1 seems to blossom from within to the outside1 like life itself4 8,now ,i have discovered that the ancients practised precisely this method of modelling4 ,and it is certainly to this technique that their works owe at once their vigor and their palpitating suppleness40 ,rodin contemplated afresh his exquisite ,greek ,venus4 ,and suddenly he said3 8,in your opinion1 ,gsell1 is color a quality of painting or of sculpture80 8,of painting1 naturally40 8,well1 then1 just look at this statue40 ,so saying1 he raised the lamp as high as he could in order to light the antique torso from above4 8,just see the high lights on the breasts1 the heavy shadows in the folds of the flesh1 and then this paleness1 these vaporous half-tones1 trembling over the most delicate portions of this divine body1 these bits so finely shaded that they seem to dissolve in air4 ,what do you say to it8 ,is it not a great symphony in black and white80 ,i had to agree4 8,as paradoxical as it may seem1 a great sculptor is as much a colorist as the best painter1 or rather1 the best engraver4 8,he plays so skilfully with all the resources of relief1 he blends so well the boldness of light with the modesty of shadow1 that his sculptures please one as much as the most charming etchings4 ,illustration3 ,,faun ,by ,praxiteles 8,now color--it is to this remark that ,i wished to lead--is the flower of fine modelling4 ,these two qualities always accompany each other1 and it is these qualities which give to every masterpiece of the sculptor the radiant appearance of living flesh40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,iron ,by ,rodin ,,chapter ,,iv ,,movement ,,in ,,art ,there are two statues by ,rodin at the ,muse du ,luxembourg which especially attract and hold me2 l',age d',airain 7the ,iron ,age7 and ,saint-,jean-,baptiste4 ,they seem even more full of life than the others1 if that is possible4 ,the other works of the ,master which bear them company are certainly all quivering with truth2 they all produce the impression of real flesh1 they all breathe1 but these move4 ,one day in the ,master's atelier at ,meudon ,i told him my especial fondness for these two figures4 8,they are certainly among those in which ,i have carried imitative art farthest10 he replied4 8,though ,i have produced others whose animation is not less striking2 for example1 my ,bourgeois de ,calais1 my ,balzac1 my ,homme qui marche 7,man walking74 8,and even in those of my works in which action is less pronounced1 ,i have always sought to give some indication of movement4 ,i have very rarely represented complete repose4 ,i have always endeavored to express the inner feelings by the mobility of the muscles4 8,this is so even in my busts1 to which ,i have often given a certain slant1 a certain obliquity1 a certain expressive direction1 which would emphasize the meaning of the physiognomy4 8,art cannot exist without life4 ,if a sculptor wishes to interpret joy1 sorrow1 any passion whatsoever1 he will not be able to move us unless he first knows how to make the beings live which he evokes4 ,for how could the joy or the sorrow of an inert object--of a block of stone--affect us8 ,now1 the illusion of life is obtained in our art by good modelling and by movement4 ,these two qualities are like the blood and the breath of all good work40 ,illustration3 ,,man ,,walking ,by ,rodin 8,master10 ,i said1 8you have already talked to me of modelling1 and ,i have noticed that since then ,i am better able to appreciate the masterpieces of sculpture4 ,i should like to ask a few questions about movement1 which1 ,i feel1 is not less important4 8,when ,i look at your figure of the ,iron ,age1 who awakes1 fills his lungs and raises high his arms2 or at your ,saint ,john1 who seems to long to leave his pedestal to carry abroad his words of faith1 my admiration is mixed with amazement4 ,it seems to me that there is sorcery in this science which lends movement to bronze4 ,i have also studied other chefs-d'uvre of your great predecessors2 for example1 ,marchal ,ney and the ,marseillaise by ,rude1 the ,dance by ,carpeaux1 as well as ,barye's wild animals1 and ,i confess that ,i have never found any satisfactory explanation for the effect which these sculptures produce upon me4 ,i continue to ask myself how such masses of stone and iron can possibly seem to move1 how figures so evidently motionless can yet appear to act and even to lend themselves to violent effort40 8,as you take me for a sorcerer10 ,rodin answered1 8,i shall try to do justice to my reputation by accomplishing a task much more difficult for me than animating bronze--that of explaining how ,i do it4 8,note1 first1 that movement is the transition from one attitude to another4 8,this simple statement1 which has the air of a truism1 is1 to tell the truth1 the key to the mystery4 8,you have certainly read in ,ovid how ,daphne was transformed into a bay-tree and ,progne into a swallow4 ,this charming writer shows us the body of the one taking on its covering of leaves and bark and the members of the other clothing themselves in feathers1 so that in each of them one still sees the woman which will cease to be and the tree or bird which she will become4 ,you remember1 too1 how in ,dante's ,inferno a serpent1 coiling itself about the body of one of the damned1 changes into man as the man becomes reptile4 ,the great poet describes this scene so ingeniously that in each of these two beings one follows the struggle between two natures which progressively invade and supplant each other4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,tempest ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art 8,it is1 in short1 a metamorphosis of this kind that the painter or the sculptor effects in giving movement to his personages4 ,he represents the transition from one pose to another--he indicates how insensibly the first glides into the second4 ,in his work we still see a part of what was and we discover a part of what is to be4 ,an example will enlighten you better4 8,you mentioned just now the statue of ,marshal ,ney by ,rude4 ,do you recall the figure clearly80 8,yes10 ,i said4 8,the hero raises his sword1 shouting #8,forward' to his troops at the top of his voice40 8,exactly6 ,well--when you next pass that statue1 look at it still more closely4 ,you will then notice this3 the legs of the statue and the hand which holds the sheath of the sabre are placed in the attitude that they had when he drew--the left leg is drawn back so that the sabre may be easily grasped by the right hand1 which has just drawn it2 and as for the left hand1 it is arrested in the air as if still offering the sheath4 8,now examine the body4 ,it must have been slightly bent toward the left at the moment when it performed the act which ,i have described1 but here it is erect1 here is the chest thrown out1 here is the head turning towards the soldiers as it roars out the order to attack2 here1 finally1 is the right arm raised and brandishing the sabre4 8,so there you have a confirmation of what ,i have just said2 the movement in this statue is only the change from a first attitude--that which the ,marshal had as he drew his sabre--into a second1 that which he had as he rushes1 arm aloft1 upon the enemy4 ,illustration3 ,,marshal ,,ney ,by ,rude 8,in that is all the secret of movement as interpreted by art4 ,the sculptor compels1 so to speak1 the spectator to follow the development of an act in an individual4 ,in the example that we have chosen1 the eyes are forced to travel upward from the lower limbs to the raised arm1 and1 as in so doing they find the different parts of the figure represented at successive instants1 they have the illusion of beholding the movement performed40 ,as it happened1 the casts of the ,iron ,age and of ,saint ,john the ,baptist stood in the great hall where we were4 ,rodin asked me to look at them4 ,and ,i at once recognized the truth of his words4 ,i noticed that in the first of these works the movement appears to mount1 as in the statue of ,ney4 ,the legs of the youth1 who is not yet fully awake1 are still lax and almost vacillating1 but as your eye mounts you see the pose become firmer--the ribs rise beneath the skin1 the chest expands1 the face is lifted towards the sky1 and the two arms stretch in an endeavor to throw off their torpor4 ,the subject of this sculpture is exactly that--the passage from somnolence to the vigor of the being ready for action4 ,this slow gesture of awakening appears1 besides1 still more grand when one understands its symbolic meaning4 ,for it represents1 as the title of the work indicates1 the first palpitation of conscience in a humanity still young1 the first victory of reason over the brutishness of the prehistoric ages4 ,in the same way ,i next studied ,saint ,john4 ,and ,i saw that the rhythm of this figure led1 as ,rodin had said1 to a sort of evolution between two balances4 ,the figure leaning1 at first1 all its weight upon the left foot1 which presses the ground with all its strength1 seems to balance there while the eyes look to the right4 ,you then see all the body bent in that direction1 then the right leg advances and the foot takes hold of the ground4 ,at the same time the left shoulder1 which is raised1 seems to endeavor to bring the weight of the body to this side in order to aid the leg which is behind to come forward4 ,now1 the science of the sculptor has consisted precisely in imposing all these facts upon the spectator in the order in which ,i have stated them1 so that their succession will give the impression of movement4 ,illustration3 ,,saint ,,john ,,the ,,baptist ,by ,rodin ,moreover1 the gesture of ,saint ,john1 like that of the ,iron ,age1 contains a spiritual significance4 ,the prophet moves with an almost automatic solemnity4 ,you almost believe you hear his footsteps1 as you do those in the statue of the ,commander4 ,you feel that a force at once mysterious and formidable sustains and impels him4 ,so the act of walking1 usually a commonplace movement1 here becomes majestic because it is the accomplishment of a divine mission4 8,have you ever attentively examined instantaneous photographs of walking figures80 ,rodin suddenly asked me4 ,upon my reply in the affirmative1 8,well1 what did you notice80 8,that they never seem to advance4 ,generally they seem to rest motionless on one leg or to hop on one foot40 8,exactly6 ,now1 for example1 while my ,saint ,john is represented with both feet on the ground1 it is probable that an instantaneous photograph from a model making the same movement would show the back foot already raised and carried toward the other4 ,or else1 on the contrary1 the front foot would not yet be on the ground if the back leg occupied in the photograph the same position as in my statue4 8,now it is exactly for that reason that this model photographed would present the odd appearance of a man suddenly stricken with paralysis and petrified in his pose1 as it happened in the pretty fairy story to the servants of the ,sleeping ,beauty1 who were all suddenly struck motionless in the midst of their occupations4 ,illustration3 ,,saint ,,john ,,the ,,baptist ,by ,rodin 8,and this confirms what ,i have just explained to you on the subject of movement in art4 ,if1 in fact1 in instantaneous photographs1 the figures1 though taken while moving1 seem suddenly fixed in mid-air1 it is because1 all parts of the body being reproduced exactly at the same twentieth or fortieth of a second1 there is no progressive development of movement as there is in art40 8,i understand you perfectly1 ,master10 ,i answered4 8,but it seems to me1 if you will excuse me for risking the remark1 that you contradict yourself40 8,how so80 8,have you not declared many times to me that the artist ought always to copy nature with the greatest sincerity80 8,without doubt1 and ,i maintain it40 8,well1 then1 when in the interpretation of movement he completely contradicts photography1 which is an unimpeachable mechanical testimony1 he evidently alters truth40 8,no10 replied ,rodin1 8it is the artist who is truthful and it is photography which lies1 for in reality time does not stop1 and if the artist succeeds in producing the impression of a movement which takes several moments for accomplishment1 his work is certainly much less conventional than the scientific image1 where time is abruptly suspended4 8,it is that which condemns certain modern painters who1 when they wish to represent horses galloping1 reproduce the poses furnished by instantaneous photography4 8,gericault is criticised because in his picture ,epsom ,races 7,course d',epsom71 which is at the ,louvre1 he has painted his horses galloping1 fully extended1 ventre terre1 to use a familiar expression1 throwing their fore feet forward and their hind feet backward at the same instant4 ,it is said that the sensitive plate never gives the same effect4 ,and1 in fact1 in instantaneous photography1 when the forelegs of a horse are forward1 the hind legs1 having by their pause propelled the body onward1 have already had time to gather themselves under the body in order to recommence the stride1 so that for a moment the four legs are almost gathered together in the air1 which gives the animal the appearance of jumping off the ground1 and of being motionless in this position4 ,illustration3 ,,europa4 ,italian ,school of the ,fifteenth ,century ,illustration3 ,,epsom ,,races ,by ,gericault 8,now ,i believe that it is ,gericault who is right1 and not the camera1 for his horses appear to run2 this comes from the fact that the spectator from right to left sees first the hind legs accomplish the effort whence the general impetus results1 then the body stretched out1 then the forelegs which seek the ground ahead4 ,this is false in reality1 as the actions could not be simultaneous2 but it is true when the parts are observed successively1 and it is this truth alone that matters to us1 because it is that which we see and which strikes us4 8,note besides that painters and sculptors1 when they unite different phases of an action in the same figure1 do not act from reason or from artifice4 ,they are navely expressing what they feel4 ,their minds and their hands are as if drawn in the direction of the movement1 and they translate the development by instinct4 ,here1 as everywhere in the domain of art1 sincerity is the only rule40 ,i was silent for several instants1 thinking over what he had said4 8,haven't ,i convinced you80 he asked4 8,yes1 indeed4 ,but while admiring this miracle of painting and of sculpture which succeeds in condensing the action of several moments into a single figure1 ,i now ask myself how far they can compete with literature1 and especially with the theatre1 in the notation of movement4 ,to tell the truth1 ,i am inclined to believe that this competition does not go very far1 and that on this score the masters of the brush and chisel are necessarily inferior to those of language40 8,our disadvantage10 he exclaimed1 8is not as great as you would think4 ,if painting and sculpture can endow figures with motion1 they are not forbidden to attempt even more4 ,and at times they succeed in equalling dramatic art by presenting in the same picture or in the same sculptural group several successive scenes40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,embarkation ,,for ,,the ,,island ,,of ,,cythera ,by ,watteau 8,yes10 ,i replied1 8but they cheat1 in a way4 ,for ,i suppose that you are talking of those old compositions which celebrate the entire history of a personage1 representing him several times on the same panel in different situations4 8,at the ,louvre1 for example1 a small ,italian painting of the fifteenth century relates in this way the story of ,europa4 ,you first see the young princess playing in the flowery field with her companions1 who help her to mount the bull1 ,jupiter1 and further on the same heroine1 terrified now1 is carried off through the waves by the god40 8,that is a very primitive method10 ,rodin answered1 8though it was practised even by great masters--for example1 in the ducal palace at ,venice this same fable of ,europa has been treated in an identical manner by ,veronese4 ,but it is in spite of this defect that ,caliari's painting is admirable1 and ,i did not refer to any such childish method3 for1 as you may imagine1 ,i disapprove of it4 ,to make myself understood1 ,i must ask you first whether you can call to mind ,the ,embarkation for the ,island of ,cythera by ,watteau40 8,as plainly as if it was before my eyes10 ,i said4 8,then ,i shall have no trouble in explaining myself4 ,in this masterpiece the action1 if you will notice1 begins in the foreground to the right and ends in the background to the left4 8,what you first notice in the front of the picture1 in the cool shade1 near a sculptured bust of ,cypris garlanded with roses1 is a group composed of a young woman and her adorer4 ,the man wears a cape embroidered with a pierced heart1 gracious symbol of the voyage that he would undertake4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,marseillaise ,by ,rude 8,kneeling at her side1 he ardently beseeches his lady to yield4 ,but she meets his entreaties with an indifference perhaps feigned1 and appears absorbed in the study of the decorations on her fan4 ,close to them is a little cupid1 sitting halfnaked upon his quiver4 ,he thinks that the young woman delays too long1 and he pulls her skirt to induce her to be less hard-hearted4 ,but still the pilgrim's staff and the script of love lie upon the ground4 ,this is the first scene4 8,here is the second3 ,to the left of the group of which ,i have spoken is another couple4 ,the lady accepts the hand of her lover1 who helps her to arise4 ,she has her back to us1 and has one of those blonde napes which ,watteau painted with such voluptuous grace4 8,a little further is the third scene4 ,the lover puts his arm around his mistress's waist to draw her with him4 ,she turns towards her companions1 whose lingering confuses her1 but she allows herself to be led passively away4 8,now the lovers descend to the shore and all push laughing towards the barque2 the men no longer need to entreat1 the women cling to their arms4 8,finally the pilgrims help their sweethearts on board the little ship1 which1 decked with flowers and floating pennons of red silk1 rocks like a golden dream upon the water4 ,the sailors1 leaning on their oars1 are ready to row away4 ,and already1 borne by the breezes1 little cupids fly ahead to guide the travellers towards that azure isle which lies upon the horizon40 8,i see1 ,master1 that you love this picture1 for you have remembered every detail10 ,i said4 8,it is a delight that one cannot forget4 ,but have you noted the development of this pantomime8 ,truly now1 is it the stage8 or is it painting8 ,one does not know which to say4 ,you see1 then1 that an artist can1 when he pleases1 represent not only fleeting gestures1 but a long action1 to employ a term of dramatic art4 8,in order to succeed1 he needs only to place his personages in such a manner that the spectator shall first see those who begin this action1 then those who continue it1 and finally those who complete it4 ,would you like an example in sculpture80 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais ,by ,rodin ,opening a book1 he searched for a moment and drew out a photograph4 8,here10 he said1 8is the ,marseillaise which ,rude carved for one of the piers of the ,arc de ,triomphe4 8,liberty1 in a breastplate of brass1 cleaving the air with unfolded wings1 roars in a mighty voice1 #8,aux armes1 citoyens6' ,she raises high her left arm to rally all the brave to her side1 and1 with the other hand1 she points her sword towards the enemy4 ,it is she1 beyond question1 whom you first see1 for she dominates all the work1 and her legs1 which are wide apart as if she were running1 seem like an accent placed above this sublime war-epic4 ,it seems as though one must hear her--for her mouth of stone shrieks as though to burst your eardrum4 ,but no sooner has she given the call than you see the warriors rush forward4 ,this is the second phase of the action4 ,a ,gaul with the mane of a lion shakes aloft his helmet as though to salute the goddess1 and here1 at his side1 is his young son1 who begs the right to go with him--8,i am strong enough1 ,i am a man1 ,i want to go60 he seems to say1 grasping the hilt of a sword4 8,come10 says the father1 regarding him with tender pride4 8,third phase of the action3 a veteran bowed beneath the weight of his equipment strives to join them--for all who have strength enough must march to battle4 ,another old man1 bowed with age1 follows the soldiers with his prayers1 and the gesture of his hand seems to repeat the counsels that he has given them from his own experience4 8,fourth phase3 an archer bends his muscular back to bind on his arms4 ,a trumpet blares its frenzied appeal to the troops4 ,the wind flaps the standards1 the lances point forward4 ,the signal is given1 and already the strife begins4 8,here1 again1 we have a true dramatic composition acted before us4 ,but while ,l',embarquement pour ,cythre recalls the delicate comedies of ,marivaux1 the ,marseillaise is a great tragedy by ,corneille4 ,i do not know which of the two works ,i prefer1 for there is as much genius in the one as in the other40 ,illustration3 ,,eustache ,,de ,,saint-,,pierre4 ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais ,by ,rodin ,illustration3 ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais ,by ,rodin ,and1 looking at me with a shade of malicious challenge1 he added1 8,you will no longer say1 ,i think1 that sculpture and painting are unable to compete with the theatre80 8,certainly not40 ,at this instant1 ,i saw in the portfolio where he had replaced the reproduction of the ,marseillaise1 a photograph of his wonderful ,burghers of ,calais4 8,to prove to you10 ,i said1 8that ,i have profited by your teaching1 let me apply it to one of your most beautiful works1 for ,i see that you have yourself put into practice the principles which you have revealed to me4 8,here1 in your ,burghers of ,calais1 ,i recognize a scenic succession like that which you have cited in the chefs-d'uvre of ,watteau and of ,rude4 8,the figure in the centre first attracts attention4 ,no one can doubt that it is ,eustache de ,saint-,pierre4 ,he bows his venerable head with its long gray hair4 ,he does not hesitate1 he is not afraid4 ,he advances steadily1 his eyes half closed in silent communion4 ,if he totters a little1 it is because of the privations that he has endured during a long siege4 ,it is he who inspires the others1 it is he who offered himself first as one of the six notables whose death1 according to the conditions of the conqueror1 should save their fellow-townsmen from massacre4 8,the burgher beside him is not less brave4 ,but if he does not mourn for his own fate1 the capitulation of the city causes him terrible sorrow4 ,holding in his hand the key which he must deliver to the ,english1 he stiffens his whole body in order to find the strength to bear the inevitable humiliation4 8,on the same plane with these two1 to the left1 you see a man who is less courageous1 for he walks almost too fast3 you would say that1 having made up his mind to the sacrifice1 he longs to shorten the time which separates him from his martyrdom4 ,illustration3 ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais ,by ,rodin ,illustration3 ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais ,by ,rodin 8,and behind these comes a burgher who1 holding his head in his hands1 abandons himself to violent despair4 ,perhaps he thinks of his wife1 of his children1 of those who are dear to him1 of those whom his going will leave without support4 8,a fifth notable passes his hand before his eyes as if to dissipate some frightful nightmare4 ,he stumbles1 death so appals him4 8,finally1 here is the sixth burgher1 younger than the others4 ,he seems still undecided4 ,a painful anxiety contracts his face4 ,is it the image of his sweetheart that fills his thoughts8 ,but his companions advance--he rejoins them1 his neck outstretched as if offered to the axe of fate4 8,while these three men of ,calais may be less brave than the three first1 they do not deserve less admiration4 ,for their devotion is even more meritorious1 because it costs them more4 8,so1 in your ,burghers1 one follows the action1 more or less prompt1 which was the outcome in each one of them according to his disposition of the authority and example of ,eustache de ,saint-,pierre4 ,one sees them1 gradually won by his influence1 decide one after another to go forward with him to pay the price of their city4 8,there1 incontestably1 is the best confirmation of your ideas on the scenic value of art40 8,if your opinion of my work were not too high10 ,rodin answered1 8,i should acknowledge that you had perfectly understood my intentions4 ,you have justly placed my burghers in the scale according to their degrees of heroism4 ,to emphasize this effect still more ,i wished1 as you perhaps know1 to fix my statues one behind the other on the stones of the ,place1 before the ,town ,hall of ,calais1 like a living chaplet of suffering and of sacrifice4 ,illustration3 ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,burghers ,,of ,,calais ,by ,rodin 8,my figures would so have appeared to direct their steps from the municipal building toward the camp of ,edward ,,iii42 and the people of ,calais of to-day1 almost elbowing them1 would have felt more deeply the tradition of solidarity which unites them to these heroes4 ,it would have been1 ,i believe1 intensely impressive4 ,but my proposal was rejected1 and they insisted upon a pedestal which is as unsightly as it is unnecessary4 ,they were wrong4 ,i am sure of it40 8,alas10 ,i said1 8the artist has always to reckon with the routine of opinion1 too happy if he can only realize a part of his beautiful dreams60 ,illustration3 ,,cupid ,,and ,,psyche ,by ,rodin ,photogravure reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,,chapter ,v ,,drawing ,,and ,,color ,rodin has always drawn a great deal4 ,he has sometimes used the pen1 sometimes the pencil4 ,formerly he drew the outline with a pen1 and then added the shading with a brush4 ,these wash-drawings so executed looked as if made from bas-reliefs or from sculptured groups4 ,they were purely the visions of a sculptor4 ,later he used a lead pencil for his drawings from the nude1 washing in the flesh tones in color4 ,these drawings are freer than the first2 the attitudes are less set1 more fugitive4 ,in them the touch seems sometimes almost frenzied--a whole body held in a single sweep of the pencil--and they betray the divine impatience of the artist who fears that a fleeting impression may escape him4 ,the coloring of the flesh is dashed on in three or four broad strokes1 the modelling summarily produced by the drying of the pools of color where the brush in its haste has not paused to gather the drops left after each touch4 ,these sketches fix the rapid gesture1 the transient motion which the eye itself has hardly seized for one half second4 ,they do not give you merely line and color2 they give you movement and life4 ,they are more the visions of a painter than of a sculptor4 ,yet more recently ,rodin1 continuing to use the lead pencil1 has ceased to model with the brush4 ,he is now content to smudge in the contours with his finger4 ,this rubbing produces a silvery gray which envelops the forms like a cloud1 rendering them of almost unreal loveliness2 it bathes them in poetry and mystery4 ,these last studies ,i believe are the most beautiful4 ,they are at once luminous1 living1 and full of charm4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,embrace ,study-sketch by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,illustration3 ,,study ,,of ,,the ,,nude ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,as ,i was looking at some with ,rodin1 ,i said to him how much they differed from the over-finished drawings which the public usually approve4 8,it is true10 he said1 8that it is inexpressive minuti of execution and false nobility of gesture which please the ignorant4 ,the crowd cannot understand a daring impression which passes over useless details to seize only upon the truth of the whole4 ,it can understand nothing of that sincere observation which1 disdaining theatrical poses1 interests itself in the simple and much more touching attitudes of real life4 8,it is difficult to correct the errors that prevail on the subject of drawing4 8,it is a false idea that drawing in itself can be beautiful4 ,it is only beautiful through the truths and the feelings that it translates4 ,the crowd admires artists1 who1 strong in subject1 elegantly pen contours destitute of significance1 and who plant their figures in pretentious poses4 ,it goes into ecstasies over poses which are never seen in nature1 and which are considered artistic because they recall the posturings of the ,italian models who offer themselves at the studio door4 ,that is what is generally called beautiful drawing4 ,it is really only sleight-of-hand1 fit to astonish boobies4 8,of course1 there is drawing in art as there is style in literature4 ,style that is mannered1 that strains after effect1 is bad4 ,no style is good except that which effaces itself in order to concentrate all the attention of the reader upon the subject treated1 upon the emotion rendered4 8,the artist who parades his drawing1 the writer who wishes to attract praise to his style1 resemble the soldier who plumes himself on his uniform but refuses to go into battle1 or the farmer who polishes the ploughshare instead of driving it into the earth4 8,you never think of praising either drawing or style which is truly beautiful1 because you are carried away by the interest of all that they express4 ,it is the same with color4 ,there is really neither beautiful style1 nor beautiful drawing1 nor beautiful color2 there is but one sole beauty1 that of the truth which is revealed4 ,when a truth1 when a profound idea1 when a powerful feeling bursts forth in a great work1 either literary or artistic1 it is evident that the style1 or the color and the drawing1 are excellent2 but these qualities exist only as the reflection of the truth4 8,raphael's drawing is admired--and justly--but it should not be admired only for itself1 for its skilful balance of line2 it should be admired for what it signifies4 ,what forms all its merit is the sweet serenity of soul which saw with the eyes of ,raphael and expressed itself with his hand1 the love in him which seems to overflow from his heart upon all nature4 ,those who1 lacking his soul1 have sought to borrow the linear cadences and the attitudes of his figures1 have never executed any but insipid imitations of the great master of ,urbino4 8,in the drawing of ,michael ,angelo it is not his manner1 not the audacious foreshortening nor the skilful anatomy that should be admired1 but the desperate force of the ,titan4 ,those imitators who1 without his soul1 have copied in their painting his buttressed attitudes and his tense muscles have made themselves ridiculous4 8,in the color of ,titian1 what should be admired is not merely a more or less agreeable harmony1 but the meaning that it offers4 ,his color has no true beauty except as it conveys the idea of a sumptuous and dominant sovereignty4 8,in the color of ,veronese1 the true beauty exists in its power to evoke in silvery play of color the elegant conviviality of patrician feasts4 8,the color of ,rubens is nothing in itself2 its flaming wonder would be vain did it not give the impression of life1 of joy1 and of robust sensuousness4 ,illustration3 ,,torso ,,of ,a ,,woman ,by ,rodin 8,there does not perhaps exist a single work of art which owes its charm only to balance of line or tone1 and which makes an appeal to the eyes alone4 ,take1 for example1 the stained-glass windows of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries--if they enchant us with the velvety depths of their blues1 with the caress of their soft violets and their warm crimsons1 it is because their colors express the mystic joy which their pious creators hoped to win in the heaven of their dreams4 ,if certain bits of ,persian pottery1 strewn with flowers of turquoise blue1 are adorable marvels of color1 it is because1 in some strange manner1 their exquisite shades transport the soul into ,i know not what valley of dreams and fary4 ,so1 all drawing and all harmony of colors offer a meaning without which they would have no beauty40 8,but do you not fear that disdain of craft in art--80 ,i broke in4 8,who speaks to you of disdaining it8 ,craft is only a means4 ,but the artist who neglects it will never attain his end1 which is the interpretation of feeling1 of ideas4 ,such an artist would be like a horseman who forgot to give oats to his horse4 8,it is only too evident that if drawing is lacking1 if color is false1 the most powerful emotion cannot find expression4 ,incorrect anatomy would raise a laugh when the artist wished to be most touching4 ,many young artists incur this disgrace to-day4 ,as they have never studied seriously1 their unskilfulness betrays them at every turn4 ,their intentions are good1 but an arm which is too short1 a leg which is not straight1 an inexact perspective1 repels the spectator4 8,in short1 no sudden inspiration can replace the long toil which is indispensable to give the eyes a true knowledge of form and of proportion and to render the hand obedient to the commands of feeling4 8,and when ,i say that craft should be forgotten1 my idea is not for a moment that the artist can get along without science4 ,on the contrary1 it is necessary to have consummate technique in order to hide what one knows4 ,doubtless1 to the vulgar1 the jugglers who execute eccentric flourishes of line1 who accomplish astounding pyrotechnics of color1 or who write long phrases encrusted with unusual words1 are the most skilful men in the world4 ,but the great difficulty and the crown of art is to draw1 to paint1 to write with ease and simplicity4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,drawing ,by ,michael ,angelo 8,you see a picture1 you read a page2 you notice neither the drawing1 the color1 nor the style1 but you are moved to the soul4 ,have no fear of making a mistake2 the drawing1 the color1 the style are perfect in technique40 8,yet1 ,master1 can it not happen that great and touching chefs-d'uvre are wanting in technique8 ,is it not said1 for instance1 that ,raphael's color is often bad and ,rembrandt's drawing debatable80 8,it is wrong1 believe me4 ,if ,raphael's masterpieces delight the soul1 it is because everything in them1 color as well as drawing1 contributes to the enchantment4 ,look at the little ,saint ,george in the ,louvre1 at the ,parnassus in the ,vatican1 at the cartoons for the tapestry at ,south ,kensington2 the harmony in these works is charming4 ,sanzio's color is different from ,rembrandt's1 but it is exactly suited to his inspiration4 ,it is clear and enamelled4 ,it offers fresh1 flowery1 joyous tonalities4 ,it has the eternal youth of ,raphael himself4 ,it seems unreal1 but only because the truth as observed by the master of ,urbino is not that of purely material things2 his is the domain of feeling1 a region where forms and colors are transfigured by the light of love4 ,doubtless an out-and-out realist would call this coloring inexact2 but a poet finds it true4 8,what is certain is that the color of ,rembrandt or of ,rubens joined to ,raphael's drawing would be ridiculous and monstrous1 just as ,rembrandt's drawing differs from that of ,raphael1 but is not less good4 ,raphael's lines are sweet and pure2 ,rembrandt's are often rude and jarring4 ,the great ,dutchman's vision was arrested by the roughness of garments1 by the asperity of wrinkled faces1 by the callousness of plebeian hands2 for to ,rembrandt beauty is only the antithesis between the triviality of the physical envelope and the inner radiance4 ,how could he express this beauty composed of apparent ugliness and moral grandeur if he tried to rival ,raphael in elegance8 ,you must recognize that his drawing is perfect because it corresponds absolutely to the exigencies of his thought40 ,illustration3 ,a ,,drawing ,by ,rembrandt 8,so1 according to you1 it is an error to believe that the same artist cannot be at once a great colorist and a great draughtsman80 8,certainly1 and ,i do not know how this idea has become as firmly established as it seems to be4 ,if the great masters are eloquent1 if they carry us away1 it is clearly because they possess exactly all the means of expression that are necessary to them4 ,i have just proved it to you in the case of ,raphael and ,rembrandt4 ,the same demonstration could be made in the case of all the great artists4 ,for instance1 ,delacroix has been accused of ignorance of drawing4 ,on the contrary1 the truth is that his drawing combines marvellously with his color2 like it1 it is abrupt1 feverish1 exalted1 it is full of vivacity1 of passion2 like it1 it is sometimes mad1 and it is then that it is the most beautiful4 ,color and drawing1 one cannot be admired without the other1 for they are one4 8,where the demi-connoisseur deceives himself is in allowing for the existence of but one kind of drawing2 that of ,raphael1 or perhaps it is not even that of ,raphael1 but that of his imitators1 that of ,david or of ,ingres4 ,there are really as many kinds of drawing and of color as there are artists4 8,albrecht ,drer's color is called hard and dry4 ,it is not so at all4 ,but he is a ,german2 he generalizes2 his compositions are as exact as logical constructions2 his people are as solid as essential types4 ,that is why his drawing is so precise and his color so restrained4 8,holbein belongs to the same school4 ,his drawing has none of the ,florentine grace2 his color has none of the ,venetian charm2 but his line and color have a power1 a gravity1 an inner meaning1 which perhaps are found in no other painter4 ,illustration3 ,,study ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,illustration3 ,,study ,,for ,a ,,figure ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art 8,in general1 it is possible to say that in artists as deliberate1 as careful as these1 drawing is particularly tight and the color is as cold as the verity of mathematics4 ,in other artists1 on the contrary1 in those who are the poets of the heart1 like ,raphael1 ,correggio1 ,andrea del ,sarto1 line has more suppleness and color1 more winning tenderness4 ,in others whom we call realists1 that is to say1 whose sensibility is more exterior1 in ,rubens1 ,velasquez1 ,rembrandt1 for example1 line has a living charm with its force and its repose1 and the color sometimes bursts into a fanfare of sunlight1 sometimes fades into mist4 8,so1 the modes of expression of men of genius differ as much as their souls1 and it is impossible to say that in some among them drawing and color are better or worse than in others40 8,i understand1 ,master2 but in refusing the usual classification of artists as draughtsmen or colorists1 you do not stop to think how you embarrass the poor critics4 ,happily1 however1 it seems to me that in your words those who like categories may find a new method of classification4 ,color and drawing1 you say1 are only means1 and it is the soul of the artist that it is important to know4 ,so painters should be grouped according to their dispositions4 ,for example1 ,albrecht ,drer with ,holbein--both are logicians4 ,raphael1 ,correggio1 ,andrea del ,sarto1 whom you have named together1 make a class in which sentiment is predominant2 they are in the front rank of the elegiacs4 ,another class would be composed of the masters who are interested in active existence1 in daily life1 and the trio of ,rubens1 ,velasquez and ,rembrandt would be its greatest constellation4 ,finally1 artists such as ,claude ,lorraine and ,turner1 who considered nature as a tissue of brilliant and fugitive visions1 would comprise a fourth group40 ,rodin smiled4 8,such a classification would not be wanting in ingenuity10 he said1 8and it would be much more just than that which divides the colorists from the draughtsmen4 ,illustration3 ,,triton ,,and ,,nereid ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,illustration3 ,,the ,,caryatid ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art 8,however1 because of the complexity of art1 or rather of the human souls who take art for a language1 all classification runs the risk of being futile4 ,so ,rembrandt is often a sublime poet and ,raphael often a vigorous realist4 8,let us force ourselves to understand the masters--let us love them--let us go to them for inspiration2 but let us refrain from labelling them like drugs in a chemist's shop40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,bather ,by ,rodin ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,beauty ,,of ,,women ,that fine old house known as 8l',htel de ,biron10 which stands in a quiet street on the left bank of the ,seine in ,paris1 and which was but lately the ,convent of the ,sacred ,heart1 has1 since the suppression of the sisterhoods1 been occupied by several tenants1 among whom is ,rodin4 ,the ,master1 as we have seen1 has other ateliers at ,meudon and at the ,dpt des ,marbres in ,paris1 but he has a special liking for this one4 ,built in the eighteenth century1 the town house of a powerful family1 it is certainly as beautiful a dwelling as any artist could desire4 ,the great rooms are lofty1 panelled in white1 with beautiful mouldings in white and gold4 ,the one in which ,rodin works is a rotunda opening by high ,french windows into a delightful garden4 ,for several years now this garden has been neglected4 ,but it is still possible to trace1 among the riotous weeds1 the ancient lines of box which bordered the alleys1 to follow1 beneath fantastic vines1 the shape of green trellised arbors2 and there each spring the flowers reappear1 pushing through the grasses in the borders4 ,nothing induces a more delicious melancholy than this spectacle of the gradual effacement of human toil at the hands of invading nature4 ,at l',htel de ,biron ,rodin passes nearly all his time in drawing4 ,in this quiet retreat he loves to isolate himself and to consign to paper1 in numberless pencil sketches1 the graceful attitudes which his models take before him4 ,one evening ,i was looking over a series of these studies with him1 and was admiring the harmonious lines by which he had reproduced all the rhythm of the human body upon paper4 ,illustration3 ,,torso ,,of ,a ,,woman ,by ,rodin ,illustration3 ,,torso ,,of ,a ,,woman ,by ,rodin ,the outlines1 dashed in with a single stroke1 evoked the fire or the abandon of the movements1 and his thumb had interpreted by a very slight shade the charm of the modelling4 ,as he studied the drawings he seemed to see again in mind the models who were their originals4 ,he constantly exclaimed3 8,ah6 this one's shoulders1 what a delight6 ,a curve of perfect beauty6 ,my drawing is too heavy6 ,i tried indeed1 but--6 ,see1 here is a second attempt from the same woman4 ,this is more like her4 ,and yet6 8,and just look at this one's throat1 the adorable elegance of this swelling line1 it has an almost intangible grace60 8,master10 ,i asked1 8is it easy to find good models80 8,yes40 8,then beauty is not very rare in ,france80 8,no1 ,i tell you40 8,but tell me1 do you not think that the beauty of the antique much surpassed that of our day1 and that modern women are far from equalling those who posed for ,phidias80 8,not at all40 8,yet the perfection of the ,greek ,venuses--0 8,the artists in those days had eyes to see1 while those of to-day are blind2 that is all the difference4 ,the ,greek women were beautiful1 but their beauty lived above all in the minds of the sculptors who carved them4 8,to-day there are women just like them4 ,they are principally in the ,south of ,europe4 ,the modern ,italians1 for example1 belong to the same ,mediterranean type as the models of ,phidias4 ,this type has for its special characteristic the equal width of shoulders and hips40 8,but did not the invasion of the barbarians by a mixture of race alter the standard of antique beauty80 ,illustration3 ,,pygmalion ,,and ,,galatea ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art 8,no4 ,even if we suppose that the barbarians were less beautiful1 less well-proportioned than the ,mediterranean race1 which is possible1 time has effectually wiped out any stains produced by a mixed blood1 and has again produced the harmony of the ancient type4 ,in a union of the beautiful and the ugly1 it is always the beautiful which triumphs in the end4 ,nature1 by a ,divine law1 tends constantly towards the best1 tends ceaselessly towards perfection4 ,besides the ,mediterranean type1 there exists a ,northern type1 to which many ,frenchwomen1 as well as the women of the ,germanic and ,slavic races1 belong4 ,in this type the hips are strongly developed and the shoulders are narrower2 it is this structure that you observe1 for example1 in the nymphs of ,jean ,goujon1 in the ,venus of the ,judgment of ,paris by ,watteau1 and in the ,diana by ,houdon4 ,in this type1 too1 the chest is generally high1 while in the antique and ,mediterranean types the thorax is1 on the contrary1 straight4 ,to tell the truth1 every human type1 every race1 has its beauty4 ,the thing is to discover it4 ,i have drawn with infinite pleasure the little ,cambodian dancers who lately came to ,paris with their sovereign4 ,the fine1 small gestures of their graceful limbs had a strange and marvellous beauty4 8,i have made studies of the ,japanese actress ,hanako4 ,her muscles stand out as prominently as those of a fox-terrier2 her sinews are so developed that the joints to which they are attached have a thickness equal to the members themselves4 ,she is so strong that she can rest as long as she pleases on one leg1 the other raised at right angles in front of her4 ,she looks as if rooted in the ground1 like a tree4 ,her anatomy is quite different from that of a ,european1 but1 nevertheless1 very beautiful in its singular power40 ,illustration3 ,,study ,,of ,,hanako1 ,,the ,,japanese ,,actress ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,illustration3 ,,study ,,of ,,the ,,nude ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,an instant later1 returning to the idea which is so dear to him1 he said3 8,in short1 ,beauty is everywhere4 ,it is not she that is lacking to our eye1 but our eyes which fail to perceive her4 ,beauty is character and expression4 ,well1 there is nothing in nature which has more character than the human body4 ,in its strength and its grace it evokes the most varied images4 ,one moment it resembles a flower3 the bending torso is the stalk2 the breasts1 the head1 and the splendor of the hair answer to the blossoming of the corolla4 ,the next moment it recalls the pliant creeper1 or the proud and upright sapling4 #8,in seeing you1' says ,ulysses to ,nausicaa1 #8,i seem to see a certain palm-tree which at ,delos1 near the altar of ,apollo1 rose from earth to heaven in a single shoot4' ,again1 the human body bent backwards is like a spring1 like a beautiful bow upon which ,eros adjusts his invisible arrows4 ,at another time it is an urn4 ,i have often asked a model to sit on the ground with her back to me1 her arms and legs gathered in front of her4 ,in this position the back1 which tapers to the waist and swells at the hips1 appears like a vase of exquisite outline4 8,the human body is1 above all1 the mirror of the soul1 and from the soul comes its greatest beauty4 8#8,chair de la femme1 argile idale1 o merveille1 ,o pntration sublime de l'esprit ,dans le limon que l',etre ineffable petrit4 ,matire o l'me brille travers son suaire4 ,boue o l'on voit les doigts du divine statuaire4 ,fange auguste appelant les baisers et le cur4 ,si sainte qu'en ne sait1 tant l'amour est vainqueur ,tant l'me est1 vers ce lit mystrieux1 pousse4 ,si cette volupt n'est pas une pense4 ,et qu'on ne peut1 l'heure o les sens sont en feu4 ,etreindre la ,beaut sans croire embrasser ,dieu6'#d ,footnote #d3 ,see page #bej4 8,yes1 ,victor ,hugo understood6 ,what we adore in the human body more even than its beautiful form is the inner flame which seems to shine from within and to illumine it40 ,illustration3 ,,madame ,x ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,,chapter ,,vii ,,of ,,yesterday ,,and ,,of ,,to-,,day ,a few days ago ,i accompanied ,auguste ,rodin1 who was on his way to the ,louvre1 to see once again the busts by ,houdon4 ,we were no sooner in front of the bust of ,voltaire than the ,master cried3 8,what a marvel it is6 ,it is the personification of malice4 ,see6 his sidelong glance seems watching some adversary4 ,he has the pointed nose of a fox2 it seems smelling out from side to side for abuses and follies4 ,you can see it quiver6 ,and the mouth--what a triumph6 ,it is framed by two furrows of irony4 ,it seems to mumble sarcasms4 8,a cunning old gossip--that is the impression produced by this ,voltaire1 at once so lively1 so sickly1 and so little masculine40 ,after a moment of contemplation he continued3 8,the eyes6 ,i always come back to them4 ,they are transparent4 ,they are luminous4 8,but you can say as much of all busts by ,houdon4 ,this sculptor understood how to render the transparency of the pupils better than any painter or pastellist4 ,he perforated them1 bored them1 cut them out2 he cleverly raised a certain unevenness in them which1 catching or losing the light1 gives a singular effect and imitates the sparkle of life in the pupil4 ,and what diversity in the expression of the eyes of all these faces6 ,cunning in ,voltaire1 good fellowship in ,franklin1 authority in ,mirabeau1 gravity in ,washington1 joyous tenderness in ,madame ,houdon1 roguishness in his daughter and in the two charming little ,brongniart children4 ,to this sculptor the glance is more than half the expression4 ,through the eyes he read souls4 ,they kept no secrets from him4 ,so there is no need to ask if his busts were good likenesses40 ,at that word ,i stopped ,rodin4 8,you consider1 then1 that resemblance is a very important quality80 8,certainly2 indispensable40 8,yet many artists say that busts and portraits can be very fine without being good likenesses4 ,i remember a remark on this subject attributed to ,henner4 ,a lady complained to him that the portrait which he had painted of her did not look like her4 8#8,h6 ,matame1' he replied in his ,alsatian jargon1 #8when you are dead your heirs will think themselves fortunate to possess a fine portrait by ,henner and will trouble themselves very little to know if it was like you or not4'0 8,it is possible that the painter said that10 ,rodin answered1 8but it was doubtless a sally which did not represent his real thought1 for ,i do not believe that he had such false ideas in an art in which he showed great talent4 8,but first let us understand the kind of resemblance demanded in a bust or portrait4 8,if the artist only reproduces superficial features as photography does1 if he copies the lineaments of a face exactly1 without reference to character1 he deserves no admiration4 ,the resemblance which he ought to obtain is that of the soul2 that alone matters2 it is that which the sculptor or painter should seek beneath the mask of features4 8,in a word1 all the features must be expressive--that is to say1 of use in the revelation of a conscience40 8,but doesn't it sometimes happen that the face contradicts the soul80 8,never40 8,have you forgotten the precept of ,la ,fontaine1 #8,il ne faut point juger les gens sur l'apparence'80 ,illustration3 ,,egyptian ,,sparrow-,,hawk ,see page #ahj ,illustration3 ,,mlle4 ,,brongniart ,by ,houdon 8,that maxim is only addressed to superficial observers4 ,for appearances may deceive their hasty examination4 ,la ,fontaine writes that the little mouse took the cat for the kindest of creatures1 but he speaks of a little mouse--that is to say1 of a scatterbrain who lacked critical faculty4 ,the appearance of a cat would warn whoever studied it attentively that there was cruelty hidden under that sleepiness4 ,a physiognomist can easily distinguish between a cajoling air and one of real kindness1 and it is precisely the rle of the artist to show the truth1 even beneath dissimulation4 8,to tell the truth1 there is no artistic work which requires as much penetration as the bust and the portrait4 ,it is sometimes said the artist's profession demands more manual skill than intelligence4 ,you have only to study a good bust to correct this error4 ,such a work is worth a whole biography4 ,houdon's busts1 for example1 are like chapters of written memoirs4 ,period1 race1 profession1 personal character--all are indicated there4 8,here is ,rousseau opposite ,voltaire4 ,great shrewdness in his glance4 ,it is the quality common to all the personages of the eighteenth century2 they are critics2 they question all the principles which were unquestioningly accepted before2 they have searching eyes4 8,now for his origin4 ,he is the ,swiss plebeian4 ,rousseau is as unpolished1 almost vulgar1 as ,voltaire is aristocratic and distinguished4 ,prominent cheekbones1 short nose1 square chin--you recognize the son of the watchmaker and the whilom domestic4 8,profession now3 he is the philosopher2 sloping1 thoughtful forehead1 antique type accentuated by the classic band about his head4 ,appearance purposely wild1 hair neglected1 a certain resemblance to some ,diogenes or ,menippus2 this is the preacher of the return to nature and to the primitive life4 8,individual character3 a general contraction of the face2 this is the misanthrope4 ,eyebrows contracted1 forehead lined with care2 this is the man who complains1 often with reason1 of persecution4 8,i ask you if this is not a better commentary on the man than his ,confessions8 ,illustration3 ,,mirabeau ,by ,houdon ,illustration3 ,,voltaire ,by ,houdon 8,now ,mirabeau4 ,period2 challenging attitude1 wig disarranged1 dress careless2 a breath of the revolutionary tempest passes over this wild beast1 who is ready to roar an answer4 8,origin2 dominating aspect1 fine arched eyebrows1 haughty forehead2 this is the former aristocrat4 ,but the democratic heaviness of the pockmarked cheeks and of the neck sunk between the shoulders betrays the ,count de ,riquetti to the sympathies of ,thiers1 whose interpreter he has become4 8,profession3 the tribune4 ,the mouth protrudes like a speaking-trumpet ready to fling his voice abroad4 ,he lifts his head because1 like most orators1 he was short4 ,in this type of man nature develops the chest1 the barrel1 at the expense of height4 ,the eyes are not fixed on any one2 they rove over a great assembly4 ,it is a glance at once vague and superb4 ,tell me1 is it not a marvellous achievement to evoke in this one head a whole crowd--more1 a whole listening country8 8,finally1 the individual character4 ,observe the sensuous lips1 the double chin1 the quivering nostrils2 you will recognize the faults--habit of debauch and demand for enjoyment4 ,all is there1 ,i tell you4 8,it would be easy to sketch the same character outline from all the busts of ,houdon4 8,here1 again1 is ,franklin4 ,a ponderous air1 heavy falling cheeks2 this is the former artisan4 ,the long hair of the apostle1 a kindly benevolence2 this is the popular moralizer1 good-natured ,richard4 8,a stubborn high forehead inclined forward1 indicative of the obstinacy of which ,franklin gave proof in winning an education1 in rising1 in becoming an eminent scholar1 finally in freeing his country4 ,astuteness in the eyes and in the corners of the mouth2 ,houdon was not duped by the general massiveness1 and he divined the prudent materialism of the calculator who made a fortune1 and the cunning of the diplomat who wormed out the secrets of ,english politics4 ,here1 living1 is one of the ancestors of modern ,america6 8,well6 ,here1 in these remarkable busts1 do we not find the fragmentary chronicle of half a century8 ,and1 as in the finest written narratives1 what pleases most in these memoirs in terra-cotta1 in marble and in bronze1 is the brilliant grace of the style1 the lightness of the hand that wrote them1 the generosity of this charming personality1 so essentially ,french1 who created them4 ,houdon is ,saint-,simon without his aristocratic prejudices2 is ,saint-,simon as witty but more magnanimous4 ,ah6 what a divine artist60 8,it must be very difficult10 ,i said1 verifying in the busts before us the interpretation of my companion1 8to penetrate so profoundly into the consciousness of others40 8,yes1 doubtless40 ,then1 with a shade of irony1 8,but the greatest difficulties for the artist who models a bust or who paints a portrait do not come from the work which he executes4 ,they come from the client for whom he works4 ,by a strange and fatal law1 the one who orders his own likeness is the one who always desperately combats the talent of the artist he has chosen4 ,it is very seldom that a man sees himself as he is1 and even if he knows himself1 he does not wish the artist to represent him as he is4 ,he asks to be represented under the most banal and neutral aspect4 ,he wishes to be an official or worldly marionette4 ,it pleases him to have the function he exercises1 the rank he holds in society1 completely efface the man that is in him4 ,the magistrate wishes his robe1 the general his gold-laced tunic4 ,they care very little whether one can read their characters4 8,this explains the success of so many mediocre painters and sculptors who are satisfied to give the impersonal appearance of their clients3 their gold lace and their official attitude4 ,these are the artists who are generally highest in favor because they lend their models a mask of riches and importance4 ,the more bombastic a portrait is1 the more it resembles a stiff1 pretentious doll1 the better the client is satisfied4 ,illustration3 ,,francis ,i ,by ,titian 8,perhaps it was not always so4 8,certain seigneurs of the fifteenth century1 for example1 seem to have been pleased to see themselves portrayed as hyenas or vultures on the medals of ,pisanello4 ,they were doubtless proud of their individuality4 ,or1 better still1 they loved and venerated art1 and they accepted the rude frankness of the artist1 as though it were a penance imposed by a spiritual director4 8,titian did not hesitate to give ,pope ,paul ,,iii4 a marten's snout1 nor to emphasize the domineering hardness of ,charles ,v41 or the salaciousness of ,francis ,i41 and it does not appear to have damaged his reputation with them4 ,velasquez1 who portrayed ,king ,philip ,,iv4 as a nonentity1 though an elegant man1 and who unflatteringly reproduced his hanging jaw1 nevertheless kept his favor4 ,and the ,spanish monarch has acquired from posterity the great glory of having been the protector of genius4 8,but the men of to-day are so made that they fear truth and love a lie4 ,they seem to be displeased to appear in their busts as they are4 ,they all want to have the air of hairdressers4 8,and even the most beautiful women1 that is to say1 those whose lines have most style1 are horrified at their own beauty when a sculptor of talent is its interpreter4 ,they beseech him to make them ugly by giving them an insignificant and doll-like physiognomy4 8,so1 to execute a bust is to fight a long battle4 ,the one thing that matters is not to weaken and to rest honest with one's self4 ,if the work is refused1 so much the worse4 ,so much the better perhaps2 for often1 it proves that it is full of merit4 8,as for the client who1 though discontented1 accepts a successful work1 his bad humor is only temporary2 for soon the connoisseurs compliment him on the bust and he ends by admiring it4 ,then he declares quite naturally that he has always liked it4 8,moreover1 it should be noticed that the busts which are executed gratuitously for friends or relations are the best4 ,it is not only because the artist knows his models better from seeing them constantly and loving them4 ,it is1 above all1 because the gratuitousness of his work confers on him the liberty of working as he pleases4 8,nevertheless1 the best busts are often refused1 even when offered as gifts4 ,though masterpieces1 they are considered insulting by those for whom they are intended4 ,the sculptor must go his own way and find all his pleasure1 all his reward1 in doing his best40 ,i was much interested in this psychology of the public with which the artist has to deal2 but it must be said that a good deal of bitterness entered into ,rodin's irony4 8,master10 ,i said1 8among the trials of your profession1 there is one that you seem to have omitted4 ,that is1 to do the bust of a client whose head is without expression or betrays obvious stupidity40 ,rodin laughed4 8,that cannot count among the trials10 he replied4 8,you must not forget my favorite maxim3 ,nature is always beautiful4 ,we need only to understand what she shows us4 ,you speak of a face without expression4 ,there is no such face to an artist4 ,to him every head is interesting4 ,let a sculptor note the insipidity of a face1 let him show us a fool absorbed by his care of worldly parade1 and there we have a fine bust4 8,besides1 what is called shallowness is often only a conscience which has not developed owing to a lack of education1 and in that case1 the face offers the mysterious and fascinating spectacle of an intellect which seems enveloped in a veil4 8,finally--how shall ,i put it8--even the most insignificant head is the dwelling-place of life1 that magnificent force1 and so offers inexhaustible matter for the masterpiece40 ,several days later ,i saw in ,rodin's atelier at ,meudon the casts of many of his finest busts1 and ,i seized the occasion to ask him to tell me of the memories they recalled4 ,his ,victor ,hugo was there1 deep in meditation1 the forehead strangely furrowed1 volcanic1 the hair wild1 almost like white flames bursting from his skull4 ,it was the very personification of modern lyricism1 profound and tumultuous4 8,it was my friend ,bazire10 said ,rodin1 8who presented me to ,victor ,hugo4 ,bazire was the secretary of the newspaper1 ,la ,marseillaise1 and later of l',intransigeant4 ,he adored ,victor ,hugo4 ,it was he who started the idea of a public celebration of the great man's eightieth birthday4 8,the celebration1 as you know1 was both solemn and touching4 ,the poet from his balcony saluted an immense crowd who had come before his house to acclaim him2 he seemed a patriarch blessing his family4 ,because of that day1 he kept a tender gratitude for the man who had arranged it4 ,and that was how ,bazire introduced me to his presence without difficulty4 8,unfortunately1 ,victor ,hugo had just been martyred by a mediocre sculptor named ,villain1 who1 to make a bad bust1 had insisted on thirty-eight sittings4 ,so when ,i timidly expressed my desire to reproduce the features of the author of ,contemplation1 he knit his ,olympian brows4 8#8,i cannot prevent your working1' he said1 #8but ,i warn you that ,i will not pose4 ,i will not change one of my habits on your account4 ,make what arrangements you like4' 8,so ,i came and ,i made a great number of flying pencil notes to facilitate my work of modelling later4 ,then ,i brought my stand and some clay4 ,but naturally ,i could only install this untidy paraphernalia in the veranda1 and as ,victor ,hugo was generally in the drawing-room with his friends1 you may imagine the difficulty of my task4 ,i would study the great poet attentively1 and endeavor to impress his image on my memory2 then suddenly with a run ,i would reach the veranda to fix in clay the memory of what ,i had just seen4 ,but often1 on the way1 my impression had weakened so that when ,i arrived before my stand ,i dared not touch the clay1 and ,i had to resolve to return to my model again4 8,when ,i had nearly finished my work1 ,dalou asked me to introduce him to ,victor ,hugo1 and ,i willingly rendered him this service1 but the glorious old man died soon after1 and ,dalou could only do his best from a cast taken after death40 ,rodin led me as he spoke to a glass case which enclosed a singular block of stone4 ,it was the keystone of an arch1 the stone which the architect sets in the centre to sustain the curve4 ,on the face of this stone was carved a mask1 squared along the cheeks and temples1 following the shape of the block4 ,i recognized the face of ,victor ,hugo4 8,i always imagine this the keystone at the entrance of a building dedicated to poetry10 said the master sculptor4 ,i could easily fancy it4 ,the brow of ,victor ,hugo thus supporting the weight of a monumental arch would symbolize the genius on which all the thought and all the activity of an epoch had rested4 8,i give this idea to any architect who will put it into execution10 ,rodin added4 ,close by stood the cast of the bust of ,henri ,rochefort4 ,it is well known2 the head of an insurgent1 the forehead as full of bumps as that of a pugnacious child who is always fighting his companions1 the wild tuft of hair which seems to wave like a signal for mutiny1 the mouth twisted by irony1 the mad beard2 a continual revolt1 the very spirit of criticism and combativeness4 ,admirable work it is1 in which one sees one side of our contemporary mentality reflected4 8,it was also through ,bazire10 said ,rodin1 8that ,i made the acquaintance of ,henri ,rochefort1 who was editor-in-chief of his newspaper4 ,the celebrated polemic consented to pose to me4 ,he had such a joyous spirit that it was an enchantment to listen to him1 but he could not keep still for a single instant4 ,he reproached me pleasantly for having too much professional conscience4 ,he said laughingly that ,i spent one sitting in adding a lump of clay to the model and the next in taking it away4 ,illustration3 ,,henri ,,rochefort ,by ,rodin 8,when1 some time after1 his bust received the approbation of men of taste1 he joined unreservedly in their praises1 but he would never believe that my work had remained exactly as it was when ,i took it away from his house4 #8,you have retouched it very much1' he would repeat4 ,in reality1 ,i had not even touched it with my nail40 ,rodin1 placing one of his hands over the tuft of hair and the other over the beard1 then asked me1 8,what impression does it make now80 8,you would say it was a ,roman emperor40 8,that is just what ,i wanted to make you say4 ,i have never found the ,latin classic type as pure as in ,rochefort40 ,if this ancient enemy of the ,empire does not yet know this paradoxical resemblance of his profile to that of the ,csars1 ,i wager that it will make him smile4 ,when ,rodin1 a moment before1 had spoken of ,dalou1 ,i had seen in thought his bust of this sculptor which is at the ,luxembourg4 ,it is a proud1 challenging head1 with the thin1 sinewy neck of a child of the faubourgs1 the bristly beard of an artisan1 a contracted forehead1 the wild eyebrows of an ancient communist1 and the feverish and haughty air of the irreducible democrat4 ,for the rest1 the large fine eyes and the delicate incurvation of the temples reveal the passionate lover of beauty4 ,in answer to a question1 ,rodin replied that he had modelled this bust at a moment when ,dalou1 profiting by the amnesty1 had returned from ,england4 8,he never took it away10 he said1 8for our relations ended just after ,i had introduced him to ,victor ,hugo4 8,dalou was a great artist1 and many of his works have a superb decorative value which allies them to the most beautiful groups of our seventeenth century4 ,illustration3 ,,jean-,,paul ,,laurens ,by ,rodin ,illustration3 ,,jules ,,dalou ,by ,rodin 8,if he had not had the weakness to desire an official position he would never have produced anything but masterpieces4 ,but he aspired to become the ,le ,brun of our ,republic and the leader of all our contemporary artists4 ,he died before he succeeded in his ambition4 8,it is impossible to exercise two professions at once4 ,all the activity that is expended in acquiring useful relations and in playing a rle is lost to art4 ,intriguers are not fools2 when an artist wishes to compete with them he must expend as much effort as they do1 and he will have hardly any time left for work4 8,who knows8 ,if ,dalou had always stayed in his atelier peacefully pursuing his calling1 he would have without doubt brought forth marvels whose beauty would have astonished all eyes1 and common consent would have perhaps awarded him that artistic sovereignty to whose conquest he unsuccessfully used all his skill4 8,his ambition1 however1 was not entirely vain for his influence at the ,htel de ,ville gave us one of the great masterpieces of our time4 ,it was he who1 in spite of the undisguised hostility of the administrative committee1 gave the order to ,puvis de ,chavannes for the decoration of the stairway at the ,htel de ,ville4 ,and you know with what heavenly poetry the great painter illuminated the walls of the municipal building40 ,these words called attention to the bust of ,puvis de ,chavannes4 8,he carried his head high10 ,rodin said4 8,his skull1 solid and round1 seemed made to wear a helmet4 ,his arched chest seemed accustomed to carry the breastplate4 ,it was easy to imagine him at ,pavia fighting for his honor by the side of ,francis ,i40 ,in the bust you recognize the aristocracy of an old race4 ,the high forehead and eyebrows reveal the philosopher1 and the calm glance1 embracing a wide outlook1 betrays the great decorator1 the sublime landscapist4 ,there is no modern artist for whom ,rodin professes more admiration1 more profound respect1 than for the painter of ,sainte-,genevive4 ,illustration3 ,,puvis ,,de ,,chavannes ,by ,rodin 8,to think that he has lived among us10 he cries2 8to think that this genius1 worthy of the most radiant epochs of art1 has spoken to us6 ,that ,i have seen him1 have pressed his hand6 ,it seems as if ,i had pressed the hand of ,nicolas ,poussin60 ,what a charming remark6 ,to put the figure of a contemporary back into the past1 in order to range it there by one of those who shine brightest1 and then to be so moved at the very thought of physical contact with this demi-god--could any homage be more touching8 ,rodin continued3 8,puvis de ,chavannes did not like my bust of him1 and it was one of the bitter things of my career4 ,he thought that ,i had caricatured him4 ,and yet ,i am certain that ,i have expressed in my sculpture all the enthusiasm and veneration that ,i felt for him40 ,the bust of ,puvis made me think of that of ,jean-,paul ,laurens1 which is also in the ,luxembourg4 ,a round head1 the face mobile1 enthusiastic1 almost breathless--this is a ,southerner--something archaic and rude in the expression--eyes which seem haunted by distant visions--it is the painter of half-savage epochs1 when men were robust and impetuous4 ,rodin said3 8,laurens is one of my oldest friends4 ,i posed for one of the ,merovingian warriors who1 in the decoration of the ,pantheon1 assist at the death of ,sainte-,genevive4 ,his affection for me has always been faithful4 ,it was he who got me the order for the ,bourgeois de ,calais4 ,though it did not bring me much1 because ,i delivered six figures in bronze for the price they offered me for one1 yet ,i owe him profound gratitude for having spurred me to the creation of one of my best works4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,sculptor ,,falgui,,re ,by ,rodin 8,it was a great pleasure to me to do his bust4 ,he reproached me in a friendly way for having done him with his mouth open4 ,i replied that1 from the design of his skull1 he was probably descended from the ancient ,visigoths of ,spain1 and that this type was characterized by the prominence of the lower jaw4 ,but ,i do not know whether he agreed to the justice of this ethnographical observation40 ,at this moment ,i perceived a bust of ,falguire4 ,fiery1 eruptive character1 his face sown with wrinkles and bumps like a land ravaged by storms1 the moustaches of a grumbler1 hair thick and short4 8,he was a little bull10 said ,rodin4 ,i noted the thickness of the neck1 where the folds of skin almost formed a dewlap1 the square of forehead1 the head bent and obstinate1 ready for a forward plunge4 ,a little bull6 ,rodin often makes these comparisons with the animal kingdom4 ,such a one1 with his long neck and automatic gestures1 is a bird which pilfers right and left2 such another1 too amiable1 too coquettish is a ,king ,charles spaniel1 and so on4 ,these comparisons evidently facilitate the work of the mind which seeks to class all physiognomies in general categories4 ,rodin told me under what circumstances he knew ,falguire4 8,it was10 he said1 8when the ,socit des ,gens de ,lettres refused my ,balzac4 ,falguire1 to whom the order was then given1 insisted on showing me1 by his friendship1 that he did not at all agree with my detractors4 ,actuated by sympathy ,i offered to do his bust4 ,he considered it a great success when it was finished--he even defended it1 ,i know1 against those who criticised it in his presence2 and1 in his turn1 he did my bust1 which is very fine40 ,illustration3 ,,study ,,head1 ,,for ,,the ,,statue ,,of ,,balzac ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,illustration3 ,,study ,,for ,a ,,head1 ,,presumably ,,madame ,r4 ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,as ,i was turning away ,i caught sight of a copy in bronze of the bust of ,berthelot4 ,rodin made it only a year before the death of the great chemist4 ,the great scholar rests in the knowledge of his work accomplished4 ,he meditates4 ,he is alone1 face to face with himself2 alone1 face to face with the crumbling of ancient faiths2 alone before nature1 some of whose secrets he has penetrated1 but which remains so immensely mysterious2 alone at the edge of the infinite abyss of the skies2 and his tormented brow1 his lowered eyes1 are filled with melancholy4 ,this fine head is like the emblem of modern intelligence1 which1 satiated with knowledge1 weary of thought1 ends by demanding 8,what is the use80 ,all the busts which ,i had been admiring and about which my host had been talking now grouped themselves in my mind1 and they appeared to me as a rich treasure of documents upon our epoch4 8,if ,houdon10 ,i said1 8has written memoirs of the eighteenth century1 you have written those of the end of the nineteenth4 ,your style is more harsh1 more violent than that of your predecessor1 your expressions are less elegant1 but more natural and more dramatic1 if ,i may say so4 8,the scepticism which in the eighteenth century was distinguished and full of raillery has become1 in you1 rough and sharp4 ,houdon's people were more sociable1 yours are more self-centred4 ,those of ,houdon criticised the abuses of a rgime1 yours seem to question the value of human life itself and to feel the anguish of unrealized desires40 ,rodin answered1 8,i have done my best4 ,i have not lied2 ,i have never flattered my contemporaries4 ,my busts have often displeased because they were always very sincere4 ,they certainly have one merit--veracity4 ,let it serve them for beauty60 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,thought ,,in ,,art ,one morning1 finding myself with ,rodin in his atelier1 ,i stopped before the cast of one of his most impressive works4 ,it is a young woman whose writhing body seems a prey to some mysterious torment4 ,her head is bent low1 her lips and her eyes are closed1 and you would think she slept1 did not the anguish in her face betray the conflict of her spirit4 ,the most surprising thing in the figure1 however1 is that it has neither arms nor legs4 ,it would seem that the sculptor in a moment of discontent with himself had broken them off1 and you cannot help regretting that the figure is incomplete4 ,i could not refrain from expressing this feeling to my host4 8,what do you mean80 he cried in astonishment4 8,don't you see that ,i left it in that state intentionally8 ,my figure represents ,meditation4 ,that's why it has neither arms to act nor legs to walk4 ,haven't you noticed that reflection1 when persisted in1 suggests so many plausible arguments for opposite decisions that it ends in inertia80 ,these words corrected my first impression and ,i could unreservedly admire the fine symbolism of the figure4 ,i now understood that this woman was the emblem of human intelligence assailed by problems that it cannot solve1 haunted by an ideal that it cannot realize1 obsessed by the infinite which it can never grasp4 ,the straining of this body marked the travail of thought and its glorious1 but vain determination to penetrate those questions which it cannot answer2 and the mutilation of its members indicated the insurmountable disgust which contemplative souls feel for actual life4 ,nevertheless1 this figure recalled a criticism which is often heard on ,rodin's works1 and1 though without agreeing with it1 ,i submitted it to the ,master to find out how he would answer it4 8,literary people10 ,i said1 8always praise the essential truths expressed in your sculptures4 ,but certain of your censors blame you precisely for having an inspiration which is more literary than plastic4 ,they pretend that you easily win the approbation of writers by providing them with subjects which offer an opening for all their rhetoric4 ,and they declare that art is not the place for so much philosophic ambition40 8,if my modelling is bad10 ,rodin replied sharply1 8if ,i make faults in anatomy1 if ,i misinterpret movement1 if ,i am ignorant of the science which animates marble1 the critics are right a hundred times4 ,but if my figures are correct and full of life1 with what can they reproach me8 ,what right have they to forbid me to add meaning to form8 ,how can they complain if1 over and above technique1 ,i offer them ideas8--if ,i enrich those forms which please the eye with a definite significance8 ,it is a strange mistake1 this1 to imagine that the true artist can be content to remain only a skilled workman and that he needs no intelligence4 ,on the contrary1 intelligence is indispensable to him for painting and for carving even those figures which seem most lacking in spiritual pretensions and which are only meant to charm the eye4 ,when a good sculptor models a statue1 whatever it is1 he must first clearly conceive the general idea2 then1 until his task is ended1 he must keep this idea of the whole in his mind in order to subordinate and ally to it every smallest detail of his work4 ,and this is not accomplished without an intense effort of mind and concentration of thought4 8,what has doubtless led to the common idea that artists have little intelligence is that it seems lacking in many of them in private life4 ,the biographies of painters and sculptors abound in anecdotes of the simplicity of certain masters4 ,it must be admitted that great men who think ceaselessly of their work are frequently absent-minded in daily life4 ,above all1 it must be granted that many very intelligent artists seem narrow because they have not that facility of speech and repartee which1 to superficial observers1 is the only sign of cleverness40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,statue ,,of ,,victor ,,hugo ,by ,rodin 8,surely10 ,i said1 8no one can contest the mental vigor of the great painters and sculptors4 ,but1 to return to our question--is there not a sharp line dividing art from literature which the artist should not cross80 8,i insist that in matters which concern me ,i cannot stand these limitations10 ,rodin answered4 8,there is no rule1 according to my idea1 that can prevent a sculptor from creating a beautiful work4 8,what difference does it make whether it is sculpture or literature1 provided the public find profit and pleasure in it8 ,painting1 sculpture1 literature1 music are more closely related than is generally believed4 ,they express all the sentiments of the human soul in the light of nature4 ,it is only the means of expression which vary4 8,but if a sculptor1 by the means of his art1 succeeds in suggesting impressions which are ordinarily only procured by literature or music1 why should the world cavil8 ,a publicist lately criticised my ,victor ,hugo in the ,palais ,royal1 declaring that it was not sculpture1 but music4 ,and he navely added that this work reminded him of a ,beethoven symphony4 ,would to ,heaven that it were true6 8,i do not deny1 moreover1 that it is useful to reflect upon the differences which separate literary from artistic methods4 ,first of all1 literature offers the peculiarity of being able to express ideas without recourse to imagery4 ,for example1 it can say3 ,profound reflection often ends in inaction1 without the necessity of figuring a thoughtful woman held in a block of stone4 8,and this faculty of juggling with abstractions by means of words gives1 perhaps1 to literature an advantage over other arts in the domain of thought4 ,illustration3 ,,bust ,,of ,,mlle4 ,,claudel 7,,la ,,pens,e7 ,by ,rodin 8,the next thing to be noticed is that literature develops stories which have a beginning1 a middle1 and an end4 ,it strings together different events from which it draws a conclusion4 ,it makes people act and shows the consequences of their conduct4 ,so the scenes that it conjures up gain strength by their sequence1 and even have no value except as they make part of the progress of a plot4 8,it is not the same with the arts of form4 ,they never represent more than a single phase of an action4 ,that is why painters and sculptors are wrong in taking subjects from writers1 as they often do4 ,the artist who interprets a part of a story may be supposed to know the rest of the text4 ,his work must prop itself up on that of the writer2 it only acquires all its meaning if it is illuminated by the facts that precede or follow it4 8,when the painter ,delaroche represents1 after ,shakespeare1 or after his pale imitator1 ,casimir ,delavigne1 the ,children of ,edward 7les ,enfants d',edouard7 clinging to each other1 it is necessary to know1 in order to be interested1 that they are the heirs to a throne1 that they have been imprisoned1 and that hired murderers1 sent by the usurper1 are just coming to assassinate them4 8,when ,delacroix1 that genius whose pardon ,i beg for citing him next to the very mediocre ,delaroche1 takes from ,lord ,byron's poem the subject of ,don ,juan's ,shipwreck 7,naufrage de ,don ,juan7 and shows us a boat in a storm-swept sea1 where the sailors are engaged in drawing bits of paper from a hat1 it is necessary1 in order to understand this scene1 to know that these unhappy creatures are starving and are drawing lots to see which of them shall serve as food for the others4 8,these two artists1 in treating literary subjects1 commit the fault of painting pictures which do not carry in themselves their complete meaning4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,shipwreck ,,of ,,don ,,juan ,by ,delacroix 8,yet1 while that of ,delaroche is bad because the drawing is cold1 the color hard1 the feeling melodramatic1 that of ,delacroix is admirable because this boat really pitches on the glaucous waves1 because hunger and distress convulse the faces of the shipwrecked1 because the sombre fury of the coloring announces some horrible crime--because1 in short1 if ,byron's tale is found mutilated in the picture1 in revenge1 the fiery1 wild1 and sublime soul of the painter is certainly wholly there4 8,the moral of these two examples is this2 when1 after mature reflection1 you have laid down prohibitions which seem most reasonable in the matter of art1 you will rightly reproach the mediocre man because he does not submit to them1 but you will be surprised to observe that the man of genius infringes them almost with impunity40 ,roving round the atelier while ,rodin was talking1 my eyes found a cast of his ,ugolin4 ,it is a figure of majestic realism4 ,it does not at all recall ,carpeaux's group2 if possible1 it is even more pathetic4 ,in ,carpeaux's work1 the ,pisan count1 tortured by madness1 hunger1 and sorrow at the sight of his dying children1 gnaws his two fists4 ,rodin has pictured the drama further advanced4 ,the children of ,ugolin are dead2 they lie on the ground1 and their father1 whom the pangs of hunger have changed into a beast1 drags himself on his hands and knees above their bodies4 ,he bends above their flesh--but1 at the same time1 he turns away his head4 ,there is a fearful contest within him between the brute seeking food and the thinking being1 the loving being1 who has a horror of this monstrous sacrifice4 ,nothing could be more poignant4 8,there10 said ,i1 8is an example to add to that of the shipwreck in confirmation of your words2 it is certain that it is necessary to have read the ,divine ,comedy in order to represent the circumstances of ,ugolin's torment--but even if the stanzas of ,dante were unknown1 it would be impossible to remain unmoved before the terrible inner conflict which is expressed in the attitude and the features of your figure40 ,illustration3 ,,ugolino ,by ,rodin 8,it is true10 ,rodin added1 8when a literary subject is so well known the artist can treat it and yet expect to be understood4 ,yet it is better1 in my opinion1 that the works of painters and sculptors should contain all their interest in themselves4 ,art can offer thought and imagination without recourse to literature4 ,instead of illustrating scenes from poems1 it need only use plain symbols which do not require any written text4 ,such has generally been my own method40 ,what my host indicated1 his sculptures gathered around us proclaimed in their mute language4 ,there ,i saw the casts of several of his works which are most full of ideas4 ,i began to study them one by one4 ,i admired the reproduction of the ,pense1 which is at the ,muse du ,luxembourg4 ,who does not recall this singular work8 ,it is the head of a woman1 very young1 very fine1 with features of miraculous subtlety and delicacy4 ,her head is bent and aureoled with a reverie which makes it appear almost immaterial4 ,the edges of a light coif which shadow her forehead seem the wings of her dreams4 ,but her neck and even her chin are still held in the heavy1 massive block of marble from which they cannot get free4 ,the symbol is easily understood4 ,thought expands within the breast of inert matter1 and illumines it with the reflection of her splendor--but she vainly endeavors to escape from the heavy shackles of reality4 ,next ,i turned to ,illusion1 daughter of ,icarus 7l',illusion1 fille d',icare74 ,it is the figure of a youthful angel4 ,as she flew with her great wings through space1 a rude blast of wind dashed her to earth1 and her charming face was crushed against a rock4 ,but her wings1 unbroken1 still beat the air1 and1 immortal1 she will rise again1 take flight again1 fall again to earth1 and this to the end of time4 ,untiring hopes1 eternal disappointments of illusion6 ,illustration3 ,,illusion1 ,,the ,,daughter ,,of ,,icarus ,by ,rodin ,now my attention was attracted by a third sculpture1 the ,centauress4 ,the human bust of the fabulous creature yearns despairingly towards an end which her longing arms can never attain2 but the hind hoofs1 grappling the soil1 are fast there1 and the heavy horse's flanks1 almost crouched in the mud1 cannot kick free4 ,it is the frightful opposition of the poor monster's two natures--an image of the soul1 whose heavenly impulses rest miserably captive to the bodily clay4 8,in themes of this kind10 ,rodin said1 8the thought1 ,i believe1 is easily read4 ,they awaken the imagination of the spectators without any outside help4 ,and yet1 far from confining it in narrow limits1 they give it rein to roam at will4 ,that is1 according to me1 the rle of art4 ,the form which it creates ought only to furnish a pretext for the unlimited development of emotion40 ,at this instant ,i found myself before a group in marble representing ,pygmalion and his statue4 ,the sculptor passionately embraces his work1 which awakes to life within his arms4 8,i am going to surprise you10 said ,rodin1 suddenly2 8,i will show you the first sketch for this composition10 and he led me towards a plaster cast4 ,i was indeed surprised4 ,this had nothing whatever to do with the story of ,pygmalion4 ,it was a faun1 horned and hairy1 who clutched a panting nymph4 ,the general lines were about the same1 but the subject was very different4 ,rodin seemed amused at my silent astonishment4 ,this revelation was somewhat disconcerting to me2 for1 contrary to all that ,i had just heard and seen1 my host proved himself indifferent1 in certain cases1 to the subject4 ,he watched me keenly4 8,to sum it up10 he said1 8you must not attribute too much importance to the themes that you interpret4 ,without doubt1 they have their value and help to charm the public2 but the principal care of the artist should be to form living muscles4 ,the rest matters little40 ,then1 suddenly1 as he guessed my confusion1 he added1 8,you must not think that my last words contradict what ,i said before4 ,illustration3 ,,nymph ,,and ,,faun ,by ,rodin 8,if ,i say that a sculptor can confine himself to representing palpitating flesh1 without preoccupying himself with subject1 this does not mean that ,i exclude thought from his work2 if ,i declare that he need not seek symbols1 this does not signify that ,i am a partisan of an art deprived of spiritual significance4 8,but1 to speak truly1 all is idea1 all is symbol4 ,so the form and the attitude of a human being reveal the emotions of its soul4 ,the body always expresses the spirit whose envelope it is4 ,and for him who can see1 the nude offers the richest meaning4 ,in the majestic rhythm of the outline1 a great sculptor1 a ,phidias1 recognizes the serene harmony shed upon all nature by the divine wisdom2 a simple torso1 calm1 balanced1 radiant with strength and grace1 can make him think of the all-powerful mind which governs the world4 8,a lovely landscape does not appeal only by the agreeable sensations that it inspires1 but by the ideas that it awakens4 ,the lines and the colors do not move you in themselves1 but by the profound meaning that is in them4 ,in the silhouette of trees1 in the line of a horizon1 the great landscape painters1 ,ruysdael1 ,cuyp1 ,corot1 ,theodore ,rousseau1 saw a meaning--grave or gay1 brave or discouraged1 peaceful or troubled--according to their characters4 8,this is because the artist1 full of feeling1 can imagine nothing that is not endowed like himself4 ,he suspects in nature a great consciousness like his own4 ,there is not a living organism1 not an inert object1 not a cloud in the sky1 not a green shoot in the meadow1 which does not hold for him the secret of the great power hidden in all things4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,centauress ,by ,rodin 8,look at the masterpieces of art4 ,all this beauty comes from the thought1 the intention which their creators believed they could see in the universe4 ,why are our ,gothic cathedrals so beautiful8 ,it is because in all their presentment of life1 in the human images which adorn their portals1 and even in the plants which flourish in their capitals1 you can discover a trace of the divine love4 ,those gentle craftsmen of the ,middle ,ages saw infinite goodness shining everywhere4 ,and1 with their charming simplicity1 they have thrown reflections of this loving-kindness even on the faces of their demons1 to whom they have lent a kindly malice and an air almost of relationship to the angels4 8,look at any picture by a master--a ,titian1 a ,rembrandt1 for example4 ,in all ,titian's seigneurs you notice a proud energy which1 without doubt1 animated himself4 ,his opulent1 nude women offer themselves to adoration1 sure of their domination4 ,his landscapes1 beautified with majestic trees and crimsoned with triumphant sunsets1 are not less haughty than his people3 over all creation he has set a reign of aristocratic pride2 it was the constant thought of his genius4 8,another kind of pride illumines the wrinkled1 smoke-dried face of the artisans whom ,rembrandt painted2 he ennobled the smoky lofts and little windows glazed with bottle ends2 he illumined with sudden beauty these flat1 rustic landscapes1 dignified the roofs of thatch which his etching-point caressed with such pleasure on the copperplate4 ,it was the beautiful courage of the humble1 the holiness of things common but piously beloved1 the grandeur of the humility which accepts and fulfils its destiny worthily1 which attracted him4 8,and the mind of the great artist is so active1 so profound1 that it shows itself in any subject4 ,it does not even need a whole figure to express it4 ,take any fragment of a masterpiece1 you will recognize the character of the creator in it4 ,compare1 if you will1 the hands painted in two portraits by ,titian and ,rembrandt4 ,the hands by ,titian will be masterful2 those by ,rembrandt will be modest and courageous4 ,in these limited bits of painting all the ideals of these masters are contained40 ,illustration3 ,,italian ,,landscape ,by ,corot ,as ,i listened to this profession of faith in the spirituality of art an objection rose to my lips4 8,master10 ,i said1 8no one doubts that pictures and sculptures can suggest the most profound ideas2 but many sceptics pretend that the painters and sculptors never had these ideas1 and that it is we ourselves who put them into their works4 ,they believe that artists work by pure instinct1 like the sibyl who from her tripod rendered the oracles of ,god1 without herself knowing what she prophesied4 ,your words clearly prove that your hand1 at least1 is ever guided by the mind1 but is it so with all the masters8 ,have they always put thought into their work8 ,have they always had this clear idea of what their admirers found in them80 8,let us understand each other10 ,rodin said1 laughing4 8,there are certain admirers of such complicated brain that they attribute most unexpected intentions to the artist4 ,we are not talking of these4 ,but you may rest assured that the masters are always conscious of what they do40 ,and tossing his head1 8,if the sceptics of whom you speak only knew what energy it takes for the artist to translate1 even feebly1 what he thinks and feels with the greatest strength1 they would not doubt that all that appears shining forth from a picture or sculpture was intended40 ,a few moments later he continued3 8,in short1 the purest masterpieces are those in which one finds no inexpressive waste of forms1 lines1 and colors1 but where all1 absolutely all1 expresses thought and soul4 8,yet it may happen that when the masters animate the ,nature of their ideals1 they delude themselves4 ,it may be that it is governed by an indifferent force or by a will whose design our intelligence is incapable of penetrating4 ,at least1 the artist1 in representing the universe as he imagines it1 formulates his own dreams4 ,in nature he celebrates his own soul4 ,and so he enriches the soul of humanity4 ,for in coloring the material world with his spirit he reveals to his delighted fellow-beings a thousand unsuspected shades of feeling4 ,he discovers to them riches in themselves until then unknown4 ,he gives them new reasons for loving life1 new inner lights to guide them4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,old ,,man ,by ,rembrandt ,illustration3 ,,laura ,,dianti ,by ,titian 8,he is1 as ,dante said of ,virgil1 #8their guide1 their master1 and their friend4'0 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,thinker ,by ,rodin ,,chapter ,,ix ,,mystery ,,in ,,art ,one morning1 when ,i arrived at ,rodin's house at ,meudon ,i found the master in his dressing-gown1 his hair in disorder1 his feet in slippers1 sitting before a good wood fire1 for it was ,november4 8,it is the time of the year10 he said1 8when ,i allow myself to be ill4 ,all the rest of the time ,i have so much work1 so many occupations1 so many cares1 that ,i have not a single instant to breathe4 ,but fatigue accumulates1 and though ,i fight stubbornly to conquer it1 yet towards the end of the year ,i am obliged to stop work for a few days40 ,even as ,i listened to his words my eyes rested upon a great cross on the wall1 on which hung the ,christ1 a figure three-quarters life-size4 ,it was a very fine painted carving of most painful realism4 ,the body hanging from the tree looked so dead that it could never come to life--the most complete consummation of the mysterious sacrifice4 8,you admire my crucifix60 ,rodin said1 following my glance4 8,it is amazing1 is it not8 ,its realism recalls that one in the ,chapel del ,santisimo ,christo in ,burgos--that image so moving1 so terrifying1 yes--so horrible--that it looks like a real human corpse4 ,this figure of the ,christ is much less brutal4 ,see how pure and harmonious are the lines of the body and arms60 ,seeing my host lost in contemplation1 ,i ventured to ask him if he was religious4 8,it is according to the meaning that you give to the word10 he answered4 8,if you mean by religious the man who follows certain practices1 who bows before certain dogmas1 ,i am evidently not religious4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,hand ,,of ,,god ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art 8,but1 to me1 religion is more than the mumbling of a creed4 ,it is the meaning of all that is unexplained and doubtless inexplicable in the world4 ,it is the adoration of the unknown force which maintains the universal laws and which preserves the types of all beings2 it is the surmise of all that in nature which does not fall within the domain of sense1 of all that immense realm of things which neither the eyes of our body1 nor even those of our spirit can see2 it is the impulse of our conscience towards the infinite1 towards eternity1 towards unlimited knowledge and love--promises perhaps illusory1 but which in this life give wings to our thoughts4 ,in this sense ,i am religious40 ,rodin followed the rapid flickering flames of the fire for a moment1 and then continued3 8,if religion did not exist1 ,i should have had to invent it4 ,in short1 true artists are the most religious of men4 8,it is a general belief that we live only through our senses1 and that the world of appearances suffices us4 ,we are taken for children who1 intoxicated with changing colors1 amuse themselves with the shapes of things as with dolls4 ,we are misunderstood4 ,lines and colors are only to us the symbols of hidden realities4 ,our eyes plunge beneath the surface to the meaning of things1 and when afterwards we reproduce the form1 we endow it with the spiritual meaning which it covers4 8,an artist worthy of the name should express all the truth of nature1 not only the exterior truth1 but also1 and above all1 the inner truth4 8,when a good sculptor models a torso1 he not only represents the muscles1 but the life which animates them--more than the life1 the force that fashioned them and communicated to them1 it may be1 grace or strength1 or amorous charm1 or indomitable will4 8,in the works of ,michael ,angelo1 the creative force seems to rumble2 in those of ,luca della ,robbia it smiles divinely4 ,so each sculptor1 following his temperament1 lends to nature a soul either terrible or gentle4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,statue ,,of ,,balzac ,by ,rodin 8,the landscape painter1 perhaps1 goes even further4 ,it is not only in living beings that he sees the reflection of the universal soul2 it is in the trees1 the bushes1 the valleys1 the hills4 ,what to other men is only wood and earth appears to the great landscapist like the face of a great being4 ,corot saw kindness abroad in the trunks of the trees1 in the grass of the fields1 in the mirroring water of the lakes4 ,but there ,millet read suffering and resignation4 8,everywhere the great artist hears spirit answer to his spirit4 ,where1 then1 can you find a more religious man8 8,does not the sculptor perform his act of adoration when he perceives the majestic character of the forms that he studies8--when1 from the midst of fleeting lines1 he knows how to extricate the eternal type of each being8--when he seems to discern in the very breast of the divinity the immutable models on which all living creatures are moulded8 ,study1 for example1 the masterpieces of the ,egyptian sculptors1 either human or animal figures1 and tell me if the accentuation of the essential lines does not produce the effect of a sacred hymn4 ,every artist who has the gift of generalizing forms1 that is to say1 of accenting their logic without depriving them of their living reality1 provokes the same religious emotion2 for he communicates to us the thrill he himself felt before the immortal verities40 8,something10 ,i said1 8like the trembling of ,faust when he visited that strange ,kingdom of the ,mothers1 where he talked with the imperishable heroines of the great poets and beheld all the generative ideas of terrestrial realities40 8,what a magnificent scene60 ,rodin cried1 8and what a breadth of vision ,goethe had60 ,he continued3 8,mystery is1 moreover1 like a kind of atmosphere which bathes the greatest works of the masters4 8,they express1 indeed1 all that genius feels in the presence of ,nature2 they represent ,nature with all the clearness1 with all the magnificence which a human being can discover in her2 but they also fling themselves against that immense ,unknown which everywhere envelops our little world of the known4 ,for1 after all1 we only feel and conceive those things which are patent to us and which impress our minds and our senses4 ,but all the rest is plunged in infinite obscurity4 ,even a thousand things which should be clear to us are hidden because we are not organized to seize them40 ,rodin stopped1 and ,i recalled the following lines of ,victor ,hugo1 which ,i repeated3 8,nous ne voyons jamais qu'un seul ct des choses2 ,l'autre plonge en la nuit d'un mystre effrayant2 ,l'homme subit l'efft sans connatre les causes2 ,tout ce qu'il voit est court1 inutile et fuyant40#e ,footnote #e3 ,see page #bea4 8,the poet has put it better than ,i10 ,rodin said1 smiling1 and he continued3 8,great works of art1 which are the highest proof of human intelligence and sincerity1 say all that can be said on man and on the world1 and1 besides1 they teach that there is something more that cannot be known4 8,every great work has this quality of mystery4 ,you always find a little #8fine frenzy4' ,recall the note of interrogation which hovers over all of ,leonardo da ,vinci's pictures4 ,but ,i am wrong to choose that great mystic as an example1 for he proves my thesis too easily4 ,let us rather take the ,concert ,champtre by ,giorgione4 ,here is all the sweet joy of life1 but added to that there is a kind of melancholy intoxication4 ,what is human joy8 ,whence comes it8 ,where does it go8 ,the puzzle of existence6 8,again1 let us take1 if you will1 ,the ,gleaners1 by ,millet4 ,one of these women who toil so hard beneath the blazing sun rises and looks away to the horizon4 ,and we feel that in that head a question has flashed from the submerged mind3 ,what is the meaning of it all8 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,gleaners ,by ,millet 8,that is the mystery that floats over all great work4 ,what is the meaning of the law which chains these creatures to existence only to make them suffer8 ,what is the meaning of this eternal enticement which makes them love life1 however sad it is8 ,oh1 agonizing problem6 8,yet it is not only the masterpieces of ,christian civilization which produced this impression of mystery4 ,it is felt before the masterpieces of antique art1 before the ,three ,fates of the ,parthenon1 for example4 ,i call them the ,fates because it is the accepted name1 though in the opinion of many students they are other goddesses2 it makes little difference either way6 ,they are only three women seated1 but their pose is so serene1 so august1 that they seem to be taking part in something of enormous import that we do not see4 ,over them reigns the great mystery1 the immaterial1 eternal ,reason whom all nature obeys1 and of whom they are themselves the celestial servants4 8,so1 all the masters advance to the barrier which parts us from the ,unknowable4 ,certain among them have cruelly wounded their brows against it2 others1 whose imagination is more cheerful1 imagine that they hear through that wall the melodious songs of the birds which people the secret orchard40 ,i listened attentively to my host1 who was giving me his most precious thoughts on his art4 ,it seemed that the fatigue which had condemned his body to rest before that hearth where the flames were leaping had left his spirit1 on the contrary1 more free1 and had tempted it to fling itself passionately into dreams4 ,i led the talk to his own works4 8,master10 ,i said1 8you speak of other artists1 but you are silent about yourself4 ,yet you are one of those who have put into their art most mystery4 ,the torment of the invisible and of the inexplicable is seen in even the least of your sculptures40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,three ,,fates ,from the ,parthenon 8,ah6 my dear ,gsell10 he said1 throwing me a glance of irony1 8if ,i have expressed certain feelings in my works1 it is utterly useless for me to try to put them into words1 for ,i am not a poet1 but a sculptor1 and they ought to be easily read in my statues2 if not1 ,i might as well not have experienced the feelings40 8,you are right2 it is for the public to discover them4 ,so ,i am going to tell you all the mystery that ,i have found in your inspiration4 ,you will tell me if ,i have seen rightly4 ,it seems to me that what has especially interested you in humanity is that strange uneasiness of the soul bound to the body4 8,in all your statues there is the same impulse of the spirit towards the ideal1 in spite of the weight and the cowardice of the flesh4 8,in your ,saint ,john the ,baptist1 a heavy1 almost gross body is strained1 uplifted by a divine mission which outruns all earthly limits4 ,in your ,bourgeois de ,calais1 the soul enamoured of immortality drags the hesitant body to its martyrdom1 while it seems to cry the words1 #8,thou tremblest1 vile flesh6' 8,in your ,penseur1 meditation1 in its terrible effort to embrace the absolute1 contracts the athletic body1 bends it1 crushes it4 ,in your ,baiser1 the bodies tremble as though they felt1 in advance1 the impossibility of realizing that indissoluble union desired by their souls4 ,in your ,balzac1 genius1 haunted by gigantic visions1 shakes the sick body1 dooms it to insomnia1 and condemns it to the labor of a galley-slave4 ,am ,i right1 master80 8,i do not contradict you10 ,rodin answered1 stroking his long beard thoughtfully4 8,and in your busts1 even more perhaps1 you have shown this impatience of the spirit against the chains of matter4 ,almost all recall the lines of the poet3 8#8,ainsi qu'en s'envolant l'oiseau courbe la branche1 ,son me avait bris son corps6'#f ,footnote #f3 ,see page #bea4 8,you have represented all the writers with the head bent1 as if beneath the weight of their thoughts4 ,as for your artists1 they gaze straight at nature1 but they are haggard because their reverie draws them far beyond what they see1 far beyond all they can express4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,kiss ,by ,rodin 8,that bust of a woman at the ,muse du ,luxembourg1 perhaps the most beautiful that you have carved1 bows and vacillates as if the soul were seized with giddiness upon plunging into the abyss of dreams4 8,to sum it up1 your busts often recall ,rembrandt's portraits1 for the ,dutch master has also made plain this call of the infinite1 by lighting the brow of his personages by a light which falls from above40 8,to compare me with ,rembrandt1 what sacrilege60 ,rodin cried quickly4 8,to ,rembrandt1 the ,colossus of art6 ,think of it1 my friend6 ,let us bow before ,rembrandt1 and never set any one beside him6 8,but you have concluded justly in observing in my works the stirrings of the soul towards that kingdom1 perhaps chimerical1 of unlimited truth and liberty4 ,there1 indeed1 is the mystery that moves me40 ,a moment later he asked3 8,are you convinced now that art is a kind of religion80 8,yes10 ,i answered4 ,then he added1 with some malice3 8,it is very necessary to remember1 however1 that the first commandment of this religion1 for those who wish to practise it1 is to know how to model a torso1 an arm1 or a leg60 ,illustration3 ,,bust ,,of ,,madame ,,morla ,,vicuna ,by ,rodin ,,chapter ,x ,,phidias ,,and ,,michael ,,angelo ,one ,saturday evening ,rodin said to me1 8,come and see me to-morrow morning at ,meudon4 ,we will talk of ,phidias and of ,michael ,angelo1 and ,i will model statuettes for you on the principles of both4 ,in that way you will quickly grasp the essential differences of the two inspirations1 or1 to express it better1 the opposed characteristics which divide them40 ,phidias and ,michael ,angelo judged and commented upon by ,rodin6 ,it is easy to imagine that ,i was exact to the hour of our meeting4 ,the ,master sat down before a marble table and clay was brought to him4 ,it was winter1 and as the great atelier was unheated1 ,i was afraid that he might take cold4 ,but the attendant to whom ,i suggested this smiled as he answered1 8,never1 when he works40 ,and my disquietude vanished when ,i saw the fever which seized the ,master when he began to knead the clay4 ,he had asked me to sit down beside him4 ,rolling balls of clay on the table1 he began rapidly to model a figure1 talking at the same time4 8,this first figure10 he said1 8will be founded on the conception of ,phidias4 ,when ,i pronounce that name ,i am really thinking of all ,greek sculpture1 which found its highest expression in the genius of ,phidias40 ,the clay figure was taking shape4 ,rodin's hands came and went1 adding bits of clay2 gathering it in his large palms1 with swift1 accurate movements2 then the thumb and the fingers took part1 turning a leg with a single pressure1 rounding a hip1 sloping a shoulder1 turning the head1 and all with incredible swiftness1 almost as if he were performing a conjuring trick4 ,occasionally the ,master stopped a moment to study his work1 reflected1 decided1 and then rapidly executed his idea4 ,i have never seen any one work so fast3 evidently sureness of mind and eye ends by giving an ease to the hand of a great artist which can only be compared to the adroitness of a juggler1 or1 to make a comparison with a more honored profession1 to the skill of a great surgeon4 ,and this facility1 far from excluding precision and vigor1 involves them1 and has1 consequently1 nothing whatever to do with a superficial virtuosity4 ,while ,i drew these conclusions1 ,rodin's statuette grew into life4 ,it was full of rhythm1 one hand on the hip1 the other arm falling gracefully at her side and the head bent4 8,i am not fatuous enough to believe that this quick sketch is as beautiful as an antique10 the ,master said1 laughing1 8but don't you find that it gives you a dim idea of it80 8,i could swear that it was the copy of a ,greek marble10 ,i answered4 8,well1 then1 let us examine it and see from what this resemblance arises4 ,my statuette offers1 from head to feet1 four planes which are alternatively opposed4 8,the plane of the shoulders and chest leads towards the left shoulder--the plane of the lower half of the body leads towards the right side--the plane of the knees leads again towards the left knee1 for the knee of the right leg1 which is bent1 comes ahead of the other--and finally1 the foot of this same right leg is back of the left foot4 ,so1 ,i repeat1 you can note four directions in my figure which produce a very gentle undulation through the whole body4 8,this impression of tranquil charm is equally given by the balance of the figure4 ,a plumb-line through the middle of the neck would fall on the inner ankle bone of the left foot1 which bears all the weight of the body4 ,the other leg1 on the contrary1 is free--only its toes touch the ground and so only furnish a supplementary support2 it could be lifted without disturbing the equilibrium4 ,the pose is full of abandon and of grace4 8,there is another thing to notice4 ,the upper part of the torso leans to the side of the leg which supports the body4 ,the left shoulder is1 thus1 at a lower level than the other4 ,but1 as opposed to it1 the left hip1 which supports the whole pose1 is raised and salient4 ,so1 on this side of the body the shoulder is nearer the hip1 while on the other side the right shoulder1 which is raised1 is separated from the right hip1 which is lowered4 ,this recalls the movement of an accordion1 which closes on one side and opens on the other4 8,this double balance of the shoulders and of the hips contributes still more to the calm elegance of the whole4 8,now look at my statuette in profile4 8,it is bent backwards2 the back is hollowed and the chest slightly expanded4 ,in a word1 the figure is convex and has the form of the letter ,c4 8,this form helps it to catch the light1 which is distributed softly over the torso and limbs and so adds to the general charm4 ,now the different peculiarities which we see in this statuette may be noted in nearly all antiques4 ,without doubt1 there are numerous variations1 doubtless there are some derogations from these fundamental principles2 but in the ,greek works you will always find most of the characteristics which ,i have indicated4 8,now translate this technical system into spiritual terms2 you will then recognize that antique art signifies contentment1 calm1 grace1 balance1 reason40 ,rodin cast a glance at his figure4 8,i could carry it further10 he said1 8but it would be only to amuse us1 because1 as it stands1 it has sufficed me for my demonstration4 ,the details1 moreover1 would add very little to it4 ,and now1 by the way1 an important truth4 ,when the planes of a figure are well placed1 with decision and intelligence1 all is done1 so to speak2 the whole effect is obtained2 the refinements which come after might please the spectator1 but they are almost superfluous4 ,this science of planes is common to all great epochs2 it is almost ignored to-day40 ,pushing aside the clay figure1 he went on3 8,now ,i will do you another after ,michael ,angelo40 ,he did not proceed at all in the same way as for the first4 ,he turned the two legs of the figure to the same side and the torso to the opposite side4 ,he bent the body forward2 he folded one arm close against the body and placed the other behind the head4 ,the attitude thus evoked offered a strange appearance of effort and of torture4 ,rodin had fashioned this sketch as quickly as the preceding one1 only crushing his balls of clay with more vigor and putting almost frenzy into the strokes of his thumb4 8,there60 he cried4 8,what do you think of it80 8,i should take it for a copy of a ,michael ,angelo--or rather for a replica of one of his works4 ,what vigor1 what tension of the muscles60 8,now6 ,follow my explanation4 ,here1 instead of four planes1 you have only two2 one for the upper half of the statuette and the other1 opposed1 for the lower half4 ,this gives at once a sense of violence and of constraint--and the result is a striking contrast to the calm of the antiques4 8,both legs are bent1 and consequently the weight of the body is divided between the two instead of being borne exclusively by one4 ,so there is no repose here1 but work for both the lower limbs4 8,besides1 the hip corresponding to the leg which bears the lesser weight is the one which is the more raised1 which indicates that the body is pushing this way4 8,nor is the torso less animated4 ,instead of resting quietly1 as in the antique1 on the most prominent hip1 it1 on the contrary1 raises the shoulder on the same side so as to continue the movement of the hip4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,captive ,by ,michael ,angelo 8,now note that the concentration of the effort places the two limbs one against the other1 and the two arms1 one against the body and the other against the head4 ,in this way there is no space left between the limbs and the body4 ,you see none of those openings which1 resulting from the freedom with which the arms and legs were placed1 gave lightness to ,greek sculpture4 ,the art of ,michael ,angelo created statues all of a size1 in a block4 ,he said himself that only those statues were good which could be rolled from the top of a mountain without breaking2 and in his opinion all that was broken off in such a fall was superfluous4 8,his figures surely seem carved to meet this test2 but it is certain that not a single antique could have stood it2 the greatest works of ,phidias1 of ,praxiteles1 of ,polycletus1 of ,scopas and of ,lysippus would have reached the foot of the hill in pieces4 8,and that proves how a formula which may be profoundly true for one artistic school may be false for another4 8,a last important characteristic of my statuette is that it is in the form of a console2 the knees constitute the lower protuberance2 the retreating chest represents the concavity1 the bent head the upper jutment of the console4 ,the torso is thus arched forward instead of backward as in antique art4 ,it is that which produces here such deep shadows in the hollow of the chest and beneath the legs4 8,to sum it up1 the greatest genius of modern times has celebrated the epic of shadow1 while the ancients celebrated that of light4 ,and if we now seek the spiritual significance of the technique of ,michael ,angelo1 as we did that of the ,greeks1 we shall find that his sculpture expressed restless energy1 the will to act without the hope of success--in fine1 the martyrdom of the creature tormented by unrealizable aspirations4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,three ,,graces ,by ,raphael 8,you know that ,raphael1 during one period of his life1 tried to imitate ,michael ,angelo4 ,he did not succeed4 ,he could not discover the secret of the condensed passion of his rival4 ,it was because he was formed by the ,greek school1 as is proved by that divine trio of the ,graces at ,chantilly1 in which he copied an adorable antique group at ,siena4 ,without knowing it1 he constantly returned to the principles of the masters he preferred4 ,those of his figures in which he wished to put most strength always kept the rhythm and gracious balance of the ,hellenic masterpieces4 8,when ,i went to ,italy myself1 with my head full of the ,greek models which ,i had so passionately studied at the ,louvre1 ,i found myself completely disconcerted before the ,michael ,angelos4 ,they constantly contradicted all those truths which ,i believed that ,i had definitely acquired4 #8,look here1' ,i said to myself1 #8why this incurvation of the body1 this raised hip1 this lowered shoulder8' ,i was very much upset4 8,and yet ,michael ,angelo could not have been mistaken6 ,i had to understand4 ,i kept at it and ,i succeeded4 8,to tell the truth1 ,michael ,angelo does not1 as is often contended1 hold a unique place in art4 ,he is the culmination of all ,gothic thought4 ,it is generally said that the ,renaissance was the resurrection of pagan rationalism and its victory over the mysticism of the ,middle ,ages4 ,this is only half true4 ,the ,christian spirit continued to inspire a number of the artists of the ,renaissance1 among others1 ,donatello1 the painter ,ghirlandajo1 who was the master of ,michael ,angelo1 and ,buonarotti himself4 8,he is manifestly the descendant of the image-makers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries4 ,you constantly find in the sculpture of the ,middle ,ages this form of the console to which ,i called your attention4 ,there you find this same restriction of the chest1 these limbs glued to the body1 and this attitude of effort4 ,there you find above all a melancholy which regards life as a transitory thing to which we must not cling40 ,as ,i thanked my host for his precious instruction1 he said3 8,we must complete it one of these days by a visit to the ,louvre4 ,don't forget to remind me40 ,at this moment a servant announced ,anatole ,france1 whom ,rodin was expecting4 ,the master sculptor had invited the great writer to come and admire his collection of antiques4 ,they formed a great contrast to each other4 ,anatole ,france is tall and thin4 ,his face is long and fine2 his black eyes are set deep in their sockets2 his hands are delicate and slender2 his gestures are vivacious and emphasize all the play of his irony4 ,rodin is thick-set1 he has strong shoulders1 his face is broad2 his dreamy eyes1 often half-closed1 open wide at times and disclose pupils of clear blue4 ,his beard gives him the look of one of ,michael ,angelo's prophets4 ,his movements are slow and dignified4 ,his large hands1 with short fingers1 are strongly supple4 ,the one is the personification of deep and witty analysis1 the other of passion and strength4 ,the sculptor led us to his antiques1 and the conversation naturally returned to the subject which we had just been discussing4 ,a ,greek stele roused the admiration of ,anatole ,france4 ,it represented a young woman seated4 ,a man is gazing at her lovingly1 and behind her1 bending over her shoulders1 stands a serving-maid4 8,how the ,greeks loved life60 cried the author of ,thas4 8,see6 ,nothing on this funeral stone recalls death4 ,the dead woman is here amid the living1 and seems still to take part in their existence4 ,only she has become very weak1 and as she can no longer stand she must remain seated4 ,it is one of the characteristics which designate the dead on these antique monuments3 their limbs being without strength1 they must lean upon a staff1 or against a wall1 or else sit down4 8,there is also another detail which frequently distinguishes them4 ,while the living who are figured around them all regard them with tenderness1 their own eyes wander far and rest on no one4 ,they no longer see those who see them4 ,yet they continue to live like beloved invalids among those who cherish them4 ,and this half-presence1 this half-absence1 is the most touching expression of the regret which1 according to the ancients1 the light of day inspired in the dead40 ,rodin's collection of antiques is large and well chosen4 ,he is especially proud of a ,hercules1 whose vigorous slimness filled us with enthusiasm4 ,it is a statue which does not in the least resemble the huge ,farnese ,hercules4 ,it is marvellously graceful4 ,the demi-god1 in all his proud youth1 has a body and limbs of extreme slenderness4 8,this is indeed10 said our host1 8the hero who outran the ,arcadian stag with the brazen hooves4 ,the heavy athlete of ,lysippus would not have been capable of such a feat of prowess4 ,strength is often allied to grace1 and true grace is strong2 a double truth of which this ,hercules is a proof4 ,as you see1 the son of ,alcmene seems even more robust because his body is harmoniously proportioned40 ,anatole ,france stopped before a charming little torso of a goddess4 8,this10 he said1 8is one of the numberless chaste ,aphrodites which were more or less free reproductions of ,praxiteles' masterpiece1 the ,cnidian ,venus4 ,the ,venus of the ,capitol and the ,venus di ,medici are1 among others1 only variations of this much-copied model4 8,among the ,greeks1 many excellent sculptors spent their skill in imitating the work of some master who had preceded them4 ,they modified the general idea but slightly1 and only showed their own personality in the science of the execution4 ,it would seem1 besides1 that devotional zeal1 becoming fond of a sculptural image1 forbade artists afterwards to change it4 ,religion fixes once and for all the divine types that it adopts4 ,we are astonished to find so many chaste ,venuses1 so many crouching ,venuses4 ,we forget that these statues were sacred4 ,in a thousand or two thousand years they will exhume in the same way numbers of statues of the ,virgin of ,lourdes1 all much alike1 with a white robe1 a rosary1 and a blue girdle40 8,what a kindly religion this of the ,greeks must have been10 ,i cried1 8which offered such charming forms to the adoration of its worshippers60 8,it was beautiful10 ,anatole ,france replied1 8since it has left us these ,venuses2 but do not believe that it was kindly4 ,it was intolerant and tyrannical1 like all forms of pious fervor4 ,in the name of these ,aphrodites of quivering flesh many noble souls were tortured4 ,in the name of ,olympus the ,athenians offered the cup of hemlock to ,socrates4 ,and do you recall that verse of ,lucretius3-- #8,tantum religio potuit suadere malorum6' 8,you see1 if the gods of antiquity are sympathetic to us to-day it is because1 fallen1 they can no longer harm us40 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,at ,,the ,,louvre ,several days later1 ,rodin1 putting his promise into execution1 asked me to accompany him to the ,muse du ,louvre4 ,we were no sooner before the antiques than he showed by his happy air that he was among old friends4 8,how many times10 he said1 8have ,i come here when ,i was not more than fifteen years old6 ,i had a violent longing at first to be a painter4 ,color attracted me4 ,i often went upstairs to admire the ,titians and ,rembrandts4 ,but1 alas6 ,i hadn't enough money to buy canvases and tubes of color4 ,to copy the antiques1 on the contrary1 ,i needed only paper and pencils4 ,so ,i was forced to work in the lower rooms1 and there such a passion for sculpture seized me that ,i could think of nothing else40 ,as ,i listened to ,rodin while he told of his long study of the antique1 ,i thought of the injustice done him by those false classicists who have accused him of being an insurgent against tradition4 ,tradition6 ,it is this pretended revolutionary who1 in our own day1 has known it best and respected it most6 ,he led me to the room full of casts and1 pointing out the ,diadumenes by ,polycletus1 the original of which is in the ,british ,museum1 he said3 8,you can observe here the four directions that ,i indicated the other day in my clay statuette4 ,just examine the left side of this statue3 the shoulder is slightly forward1 the hip is back2 again the knee is forward1 the foot is back2 and thence a gentle undulation of the whole results4 ,illustration3 ,,diadumenes ,by ,polyclitus 8,now notice the balance of the levels--the level of the shoulders lower towards the right1 the level of the hips lower towards the left4 ,note that the plumb-line passing through the neck falls on the inner ankle bone of the right foot2 note the free poise of the left leg4 ,finally1 view in profile the convexity of the back of the statue1 in form like a ,c40 ,rodin repeated this demonstration with a number of other antiques4 ,leaving the casts1 he led me to the wonderful torso of ,peribotos by ,praxiteles4 8,here the direction of the shoulders is towards the left1 direction of the hips towards the right--level of the right shoulder higher1 level of the left hip higher40 ,then1 passing to less theoretic impressions3 8,how charming60 he cried4 8,this young torso1 without a head1 seems to smile at the light and at the spring1 better than eyes and lips could do40 ,then we reached the ,venus of ,milo4 8,behold the marvel of marvels6 ,here you find an exquisite rhythm very like that in the statue which we have been admiring2 but something of thought as well2 for here we no longer find the form of the ,c2 on the contrary1 the body of this goddess bends slightly forward as in ,christian sculpture4 ,yet there is nothing restless or tormented here4 ,this work is the expression of the greatest antique inspiration2 it is voluptuousness regulated by restraint2 it is the joy of life cadenced1 moderated by reason4 8,such masterpieces affect me strangely4 ,they bring vividly before my mind the atmosphere and the country where they had birth4 ,i see the young ,greeks1 their brown hair crowned with violets and the maidens with floating tunics as they pass to offer sacrifice to the gods in those temples whose lines were pure and majestic1 whose marble had the warm transparency of flesh4 ,i imagine the philosophers walking in the outskirts of the town1 conversing upon beauty1 close to some old altar which recalls to them the earthly adventure of some god4 ,the birds sing amidst the ivy1 in the great plane-trees1 in the bushes of laurel and of myrtle1 and the brooks shine beneath the serene blue sky1 which domes this sensuous and peaceful land40 ,illustration3 ,,venus ,,of ,,milo ,an instant later we were before the ,victory of ,samothrace4 8,place it1 in your mind1 upon a golden shore1 whence1 beneath the olive branches1 you may see the blue and shining sea cradling its white islands6 ,antique marbles need the full light of day4 ,in our museums they are deadened by too heavy shadows4 ,the reflection of the sun-bathed earth and of the ,mediterranean aureoled them with dazzling splendor4 ,their ,victory--it was their ,liberty--how it differs from ours6 ,she did not gather back her robe to leap barriers2 she was clothed in fine linen1 not in coarse cloth2 her marvellous body in its beauty was not formed for daily tasks2 her movements1 though vigorous1 were always harmoniously balanced4 8,in truth she was the ,liberty not of the whole world1 but only of the intellectually elect4 ,the philosophers contemplated her with delight4 ,but the conquered1 the slaves who were beaten in her name1 had no love for her4 8,that was the fault of the ,hellenic ideal4 ,the ,beauty conceived by the ,greeks was the order dreamed of by intelligence1 but she only appealed to the cultivated mind2 she disdained the humble2 she had no tenderness for the broken2 she did not know that in every heart there is a ray of heaven4 8,she was tyrannous to all who were not capable of high thought2 she inspired ,aristotle to an apology for slavery2 she admitted only the perfection of form and she did not know that the expression of the most abject creature may be sublime4 ,she destroyed the malformed children4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,victory ,,of ,,samothrace 8,but this very order which the philosophers extolled was too limited4 ,they had imagined it according to their desires and not as it exists in the vast universe4 ,they had arranged it according to their human geometry4 ,they figured the world as limited by a great crystal sphere2 they feared the unlimited4 ,they also feared progress4 ,according to them creation had never been as beautiful as1 at its birth1 when nothing had yet troubled its primitive balance4 ,since then all had continually grown worse2 each day a little more confusion had made its way into the universal order4 ,the age of gold which we glimpse on the horizon of the future they placed behind them in the remoteness of time4 8,so this passion for order betrayed them4 ,order reigns without doubt in the immensity of nature1 but it is much more complex than man in the first efforts of his reason can represent it--and besides1 it is eternally changing4 8,yet sculpture was never more radiant than when it was inspired by this narrow order4 ,it was because that calm beauty could find entire expression in the serenity of transparent marbles2 it was because there was perfect accord between the thought and the matter that it animated4 ,the modern spirit1 on the contrary1 upsets and breaks all forms in which it takes body4 8,no2 no artist will ever surpass ,phidias--for progress exists in the world1 but not in art4 ,the greatest of sculptors who appeared at a time when the whole human dream could blossom in the pediment of a temple will remain for ever without an equal40 ,we passed on to the room which holds the work of ,michael ,angelo4 ,to reach it we crossed that of ,jean ,goujon and of ,germain ,pilon4 8,your elder brothers10 ,i said4 8,i should like to think so10 ,rodin answered with a sigh4 ,we were now before the ,captives1 by ,michael ,angelo4 ,we first looked at the one on the right1 which is seen in profile4 8,look6 only two great planes4 ,the legs to one side1 the body to the opposite side4 ,this gives great strength to the attitude4 ,no balance of levels4 ,the right hip is the higher1 and the right shoulder is also higher4 ,so the movement acquires amplitude4 ,observe the line of plumb--it falls not on one foot1 but between the two2 so both legs bear the body and seem to make an effort4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,captive ,by ,michael ,angelo 8,let us consider1 finally1 the general aspect4 ,it is that of a console2 the bent legs project1 the retreating chest forms a hollow4 ,it is the confirmation of what ,i demonstrated in my studio with the clay model40 ,then1 turning towards the other captive3 8,here again the form of the console is designed1 not by the retreating chest1 but by the raised elbow1 which hangs forward4 ,as ,i have already told you1 this particular silhouette is that of all the statuary of the ,middle ,ages4 8,you find this form of the console in the ,virgin seated leaning over her child2 in the ,christ nailed on the cross1 the legs bent1 the body bowed towards the men whom ,his suffering would redeem2 in the ,mater ,dolorosa who bends above the body of her ,son4 8,michael ,angelo1 ,i repeat1 is only the last and greatest of the ,gothics4 8,the soul thrown back upon itself1 suffering1 disgust of life1 contention against the bonds of matter--such are the elements of his inspiration4 8,the captives are held by bonds so weak that it seems easy to break them4 ,but the sculptor wished to show that their bondage is1 above all1 a moral one4 ,for1 although he has represented in these figures the provinces conquered by ,pope ,julius ,,ii41 he has given them a symbolic value4 ,each one of his prisoners is the human soul which would burst the bounds of its corporeal envelope in order to possess unlimited liberty4 ,look at the captive on the right4 ,he has the face of ,beethoven4 ,michael ,angelo has divined the features of that most unhappy of great musicians4 8,his whole existence proved that he was himself frightfully tortured by melancholy4 #8,why do we hope for more of life and of pleasure8' he said in one of his most beautiful sonnets4 #8,earthly joy harms us even more than it delights4' ,and in another verse1 #8,he who dies soon after birth enjoys the happiest fate6' 8,all his statues are so constrained by agony that they seem to wish to break themselves4 ,they all seem ready to succumb to the pressure of despair which fills them4 ,when ,michael ,angelo was old he actually broke them4 ,art did not content him4 ,he wanted infinity4 #8,neither painting nor sculpture1' he writes1 #8can charm the soul turned towards that divine love which1 upon the cross1 opens its arms to receive us4' ,these are also the exact words of the great mystic who wrote the ,imitation of ,jesus ,christ3 #8,the highest wisdom is to reach the kingdom of heaven through contempt of the world4 ,it is vanity to cling to what is but passing and not to hasten towards that joy which is without end4'0 ,there was silence for a time1 then ,rodin spoke his thought3 8,i remember being in the ,duomo at ,florence and regarding with profound emotion that ,piet by ,michael ,angelo4 ,the masterpiece1 which is ordinarily in shadow1 was lighted at the moment by a candle in a silver candlestick4 ,and a beautiful child1 a chorister1 approached the candlestick1 which was as tall as himself1 drew it towards him1 and blew out the light4 ,i could no longer see the marvellous sculpture4 ,and this child appeared to figure to me the genius of ,death1 which puts an end to life4 ,i have kept that precious picture in my heart40 ,he paused1 then went on3 8,if ,i may speak of myself a little1 ,i will tell you that ,i have oscillated all my life between the two great tendencies of sculpture1 between the conception of ,phidias and that of ,michael ,angelo4 8,i began by following the antique1 but when ,i went to ,italy ,i was carried away by the great ,florentine master1 and my work has certainly felt the effects of this passion4 8,since then1 especially more of late years1 ,i have returned to the antique4 ,illustration3 ,,la ,,piet ,by ,michael ,angelo 8,the favorite themes of ,michael ,angelo1 the depths of the human soul1 the sanctity of effort and of suffering1 have an austere grandeur4 ,but ,i do not feel his contempt of life4 ,earthly activity1 imperfect as it may be1 is still beautiful and good4 ,let us love life for the very effort which it exacts4 8,as for me1 ,i ceaselessly endeavor to render my outlook on nature ever more calm1 more just4 ,we should strive to attain serenity4 ,enough of ,christian anxiety1 in the face of the great mystery1 will always remain in us all40 ,illustration3 ,,orpheus ,,and ,,eurydice ,by ,rodin ,photogravure reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,,chapter ,,xii ,,on ,,the ,,usefulness ,,of ,,the ,,artist ,i ,the day before the vernissage 7varnishing day71 ,i met ,auguste ,rodin at the ,salon de la ,socit ,nationale in ,paris4 ,he was accompanied by two of his pupils1 themselves past-masters3 the sculptor ,bourdelle1 who was this year exhibiting a fierce ,hercules piercing the ,stymphalian birds with his arrows1 and ,despiau1 who models exquisitely clever busts4 ,all three had stopped before a figure of the god ,pan1 which ,bourdelle had whimsically carved in the likeness of ,rodin1 and the creator of the work was excusing himself for the two small horns which he had set upon the master's forehead4 8,you had to do it10 ,rodin replied1 laughing1 8because you are representing ,pan4 ,michael ,angelo gave just such horns to his ,moses4 ,they are the emblem of omnipotence and omniscience1 and ,i assure you that ,i am flattered to have been so favored by your attentions40 ,as it was now noon1 ,rodin invited us all three to lunch with him somewhere in the neighborhood4 ,we passed out into the ,avenue des ,champs lyses1 where beneath the crude young green of the chestnut-trees the motors and carriages slipped by in shining files1 all the brilliance of ,parisian life flashing here from its brightest and most fascinating setting4 8,where are we going to lunch80 ,bourdelle asked1 pausing with comical anxiety4 8,in the big restaurants about here we shall be waited upon by solemn men-servants in dress-coats1 which ,i cannot bear4 ,they frighten me4 ,i advise some quiet little restaurant where the cabbies go40 ,illustration3 ,,la ,,france ,by ,rodin ,presented to the people of the ,united ,states of ,america by the ,french nation for the base of the ,champlain ,monument at ,crown ,point 8,the food is really better there than in these gorgeous places10 ,despiau declared4 8,here the food is too sophisticated40 ,he had expressed ,bourdelle's secret thought2 for ,bourdelle1 in spite of his pretended modesty1 is a gourmand4 ,rodin agreeing1 allowed them to lead him to a little eating-house hidden in a side-street off the ,champs lyses1 where we chose a quiet corner and installed ourselves comfortably4 ,despiau1 who has a lively disposition1 began teasing ,bourdelle4 8,help yourself1 ,bourdelle10 he said1 passing him a dish1 8though you know you don't deserve to be fed1 because you are an artist--that is to say1 of no use to any one40 8,i pardon you this impertinence10 ,bourdelle answered1 8because you take half for yourself40 ,he began gayly1 but ended in a momentary crisis of pessimism1 as he added3 8,but ,i won't contradict you4 ,it is true that we are good for nothing4 ,when ,i think of my father1 who was a stonecutter1 ,i say to myself1 #8,his work was necessary to society4 ,he prepared the building materials for men's houses4' ,i can see him now1 good old man1 conscientiously sawing his blocks of freestone1 winter and summer1 in the open workshop4 ,his was a rugged type such as we do not see nowadays4 ,but ,i--but we--what service do we render to our kind8 ,we are jugglers1 mountebanks1 dreamers1 who amuse the people in the market-place4 ,they scarcely deign to take an interest in our efforts4 ,few people are capable of understanding them4 ,and ,i do not know whether we really deserve their good-will1 for the world could very well get on without us40 ,,ii ,it was ,rodin who answered4 8,i do not believe that our friend ,bourdelle means a word of what he says4 ,as for me1 my opinion is entirely opposed to his4 ,i believe that artists are the most useful of men40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,broken ,,lily ,by ,rodin ,bourdelle laughed4 8,you are blinded by love of your profession40 8,not at all1 for my opinion rests on very sound reasons1 which ,i will tell you4 ,but first have some of this wine which the patron recommends4 ,it will put you in a better frame of mind to listen to me40 ,when he had poured it out for us1 he resumed3 8,to begin with--have you reflected that in modern society artists1 ,i mean true artists1 are about the only men who take any pleasure in their work80 8,it is certain that work is all our joy1 all our life10 ,bourdelle cried1 8but that does not mean that--0 8,wait6 ,it seems to me that what is most lacking in our contemporaries is love of their profession4 ,they only accomplish their tasks grudgingly4 ,they would willingly strike4 ,it is so from the top to the bottom of the social ladder4 ,the politician sees in his office only the material advantages which he can gain from it1 and he does not seem to know the pride which the old statesmen felt in the skilful direction of the affairs of their country4 8,the manufacturer1 instead of upholding the honor of his brand1 strives only to make as much money as he can by adulterating his products4 ,the workman1 feeling a more or less legitimate hostility for his employer1 slights his work4 ,almost all the men of our day seem to regard work as a frightful necessity1 as a cursed drudgery1 while it ought to be considered as our happiness and our excuse for living4 8,you must not think that it has always been so4 ,most of the objects which remain to us from the old days1 furniture1 utensils1 stuffs1 show a great conscientiousness in those who made them4 8,man likes to work well1 quite as much as to work badly4 ,i even believe that it is more agreeable to him1 more natural to him1 that he prefers to work well4 ,but he listens sometimes to good1 sometimes to bad advice1 and gives preference to the bad4 8,and yet1 how much happier humanity would be if work1 instead of a means to existence1 were its end6 ,but1 in order that this marvellous change may come about1 all mankind must follow the example of the artist1 or1 better yet1 become artists themselves2 for the word artist1 in its widest acceptation1 means to me the man who takes pleasure in what he does4 ,so it would be desirable were there artists in all trades--artist carpenters1 happy in skilfully raising beam and mortice--artist masons1 spreading the plaster with pleasure--artist carters1 proud of caring for their horses and of not running over those in the street4 ,is it not true that that would constitute an admirable society8 8,you see1 then1 that artists set an example to the rest of the world which might be marvellously fruitful40 8,well argued10 cried ,despiau2 8,i take back what ,i said1 ,bourdelle4 ,i acknowledge that you deserve your food4 ,do take a little more asparagus40 ,,iii 8,ah1 ,master60 ,i said1 8you doubtless have the gift of persuasion4 ,but1 after all1 what is the good of proving the usefulness of artists8 ,certainly1 as you have shown us1 their passion for work might set a good example4 ,but is not the work which they do at the bottom useless1 and is it not that precisely which gives it value in our eyes80 8,what do you mean80 8,i mean1 that happily works of art do not count among useful things1 that is to say1 amongst those that serve to feed us1 to clothe us1 to shelter us--in a word1 to satisfy our bodily needs4 ,on the contrary1 they tear us from the slavery of practical life and open before us an enchanted land of contemplation and of dreams40 8,the point is1 my dear friend1 that we are usually mistaken in what is useful and what is not10 ,rodin answered4 8,i admit that we must call useful all that ministers to the necessities of our material life4 ,but to-day1 besides that1 riches are also considered useful1 though their display only arouses vanity and excites envy2 these riches are not only useless1 but cumbersome4 ,illustration3 ,,ceres ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,boston ,museum of ,fine ,arts 8,as for me1 ,i call useful all that gives us happiness4 ,well1 there is nothing in the world that makes us happier than contemplation and dreams4 ,we forget this too much in our day4 ,the man who1 with just a sufficiency1 wisely enjoys the numberless wonders which meet his eyes and mind at every turn--who rejoices in the beauty and vigor of the youth about him2 who sees in the animals1 those wonderful living machines1 all their supple and nervous movements and the play of their muscles2 who finds delight in the valleys and upon the hillsides where the spring spends itself in green and flowery festival1 in waves of incense1 in the murmur of bees1 in rustling wings and songs of love2 who feels an ecstasy as he watches the silver ripples1 which seem to smile as they chase each other upon the surface of the water2 who can1 with renewed enthusiasm1 each day watch ,apollo1 the golden god1 disperse the clouds which ,earth wraps closely around her2 the man who can find joy in all this walks the earth a god4 8,what mortal is more fortunate than he8 ,and since it is art which teaches us1 which aids us to appreciate these pleasures1 who will deny that it is infinitely useful to us8 ,it is not only a question of intellectual pleasures1 however1 but of much more4 ,art shows man his raison d'tre4 ,it reveals to him the meaning of life1 it enlightens him upon his destiny1 and consequently points him on his way4 ,when ,titian painted that marvellously aristocratic society1 where each person carries written in his face1 imprinted in his gestures and noted in his costume1 the pride of intellect1 of authority and of wealth1 he set before the patricians of ,venice the ideal which they wished to realize4 ,when ,poussin composed his clear1 majestic1 orderly landscapes1 where ,reason seems to reign2 when ,puget swelled the muscles of his heroes2 when ,watteau sheltered his charming yet melancholy lovers beneath mysterious shades2 when ,houdon caused ,voltaire to smile1 and ,diana1 the huntress1 to run so lightly2 when ,rude1 in carving the ,marseillaise1 called old men and children to his country's aid--these great ,french masters polished in turn some of the facets of our national soul2 this one1 order2 this one1 energy2 this one1 elegance2 this one1 wit2 this one1 heroism2 and all1 the joy of life and of free action1 and they kept alive in their compatriots the distinctive qualities of our race4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,torn ,,glove ,by ,titian 8,take the greatest artist of our time1 ,puvis de ,chavannes--did he not strive to shed upon us the serenity to which we all aspire8 ,are there not wonderful lessons for us in his sublime landscapes1 where holy ,nature seems to cradle upon her bosom a loving1 wise1 august1 simple humanity8 ,help for the weak1 love of work1 self-denial1 respect for high thought1 this incomparable genius has expressed it all6 ,it is a marvellous light upon our epoch4 ,it is enough to look upon one of his masterpieces1 his ,sainte ,genevive in the ,pantheon1 his ,holy ,wood 7,bois ,sacr7 in the ,sorbonne1 or his magnificent ,homage to ,victor ,hugo 7,hommage ,victor ,hugo7 on the stairway of the ,htel de ,ville in ,paris1 to feel oneself capable of noble deeds4 8,artists and thinkers are like lyres1 infinitely delicate and sonorous1 whose vibrations1 awakened by the circumstances of each epoch1 are prolonged to the ears of all other mortals4 8,without doubt1 very fine works of art are appreciated only by a limited number2 and even in galleries and public squares they are looked at only by a few4 ,but1 nevertheless1 the thoughts they embody end by filtering through to the crowd4 ,below the men of genius there are other artists of less scope1 who borrow and popularize the conceptions of the masters3 writers are influenced by painters1 painters by writers2 there is a continual exchange of thought between all the brains of a generation--the journalists1 the popular novelists1 the illustrators1 the makers of pictures bring within the reach of the multitude the truths discovered by the powerful intellects of the day4 ,it is like a spiritual stream1 like a spring pouring forth in many cascades1 which finally meet to form the great moving river which represents the mentality of an era4 ,illustration3 ,,victor ,,hugo ,,offering ,,his ,,lyre ,,to ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,paris ,by ,puvis de ,chavannes 8,and it should not be said1 as it is sometimes1 that artists only reflect the feeling of their surroundings4 ,even this would be much2 for it is well to hold up a mirror in which other men may see themselves1 and so to aid them to self-knowledge4 ,but artists do more4 ,certainly they draw largely from the common fund amassed by tradition1 but they also increase this treasure4 ,they are truly inventors and guides4 8,in order to convince oneself of this1 it is enough to observe that most of the masters preceded1 and sometimes by a long period1 the time when their works won recognition4 ,poussin painted a number of masterpieces under ,louis ,,xiii4 whose regular nobility foretold the character of the following reign2 ,watteau1 whose nonchalant grace would seem to have presided over all the reign of ,louis ,,xv41 did not live under that ,king1 but under ,louis ,,xiv41 and died under the ,regent2 ,chardin and ,greuze1 who1 in celebrating the bourgeois home1 would seem to have announced a democratic society1 lived under a monarchy2 ,prudhon1 mystical1 sweet and weary1 claimed1 in the midst of strident imperial fanfares1 the right to love1 to meditate1 to dream1 and he affirmed it as the forerunner of the romantics4 ,nearer to us1 ,courbet and ,millet1 under the ,second ,empire1 pictured the sorrows and the dignity of the people1 who since then1 under the ,third ,republic1 have won so preponderant a place in society4 8,i do not say that these artists determined these great currents1 ,i only say that they unconsciously contributed to form them2 ,i say that they made part of the intellectual lite who created these tendencies4 ,and it goes without saying that this lite is not composed of artists only1 but also of writers1 philosophers1 novelists and publicists4 ,illustration3 ,,mother ,,and ,,babe ,by ,rodin 8,what still further proves that the masters bring new ideas and tendencies to their generations is that they have often great trouble in winning acknowledgment for them4 ,they sometimes pass nearly all their lives in striving against routine4 ,and the more genius they have1 the more chance they run of being long misunderstood4 ,corot1 ,courbet1 ,millet1 ,puvis de ,chavannes1 to cite no more1 were not unanimously acclaimed until the end of their careers4 8,it is impossible to do good to mankind with impunity4 ,but1 at least1 the masters of art1 by their determination to enrich the human soul1 have deserved that their names should be held sacred after their deaths4 8,there1 my friends1 is what ,i wished to say to you upon the usefulness of artists40 ,,iv ,i declared that ,i was convinced4 8,i only want to be10 said ,bourdelle1 8for ,i adore my work1 and my grumbling was doubtless the effect of a passing mood2 or1 perhaps1 anxious to hear an apology for my profession1 ,i behaved like a coquette who complains of being ugly in order to provoke a compliment40 ,there was silence for several instants1 for we were thinking of what had been said4 ,then1 realizing that ,rodin had modestly omitted himself in indicating the influence of the masters1 ,i said3 8,master1 you have yourself exercised an influence on your epoch1 which will certainly be prolonged to succeeding generations4 ,illustration3 ,,sister ,,and ,,brother ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,boston ,museum of ,fine ,arts 8,in emphasizing so strongly the inner truth1 you will have aided in the evolution of our modern life4 ,you have shown the immense value which each one of us to-day attaches to his thoughts1 to his affections1 to his dreams1 and often to his wandering passions4 ,you have recorded the intoxication of love1 maiden reveries1 the madness of desire1 the ecstasy of meditation1 the transports of hope1 the crises of dejection4 ,you have ceaselessly explored the mysterious domain of the individual conscience1 and you have found it ever more vast4 ,you have observed that in this era upon which we have entered1 nothing has more importance for us than our own feelings1 our own intimate personality4 ,you have seen that each one of us1 the man of thought1 the man of action1 the mother1 the young girl1 the lover1 places the centre of the universe in his own soul4 ,and this disposition1 of which we were ourselves almost unconscious1 you have revealed to us4 8,following upon ,victor ,hugo1 who1 celebrating in his poetry the joys and the sorrows of private existence1 sang the mother rocking the cradle1 the father at the grave of his child1 the lover absorbed in happy memories1 you have expressed in sculpture the deepest1 most secret emotions of the soul4 8,and there is no doubt but that this powerful wave of individualism which is passing over the old society will modify it little by little4 ,there is no doubt but that1 thanks to the efforts of the great artists and the great thinkers1 who ask each one of us to consider himself as an end sufficient unto himself1 and to live according to the dictates of his own heart1 humanity will end by sweeping aside all the tyrannies which still oppress the individual and will suppress the social inequalities which subject one to another1 the poor to the rich1 the woman to the man1 the weak to the strong4 8,you1 yourself1 by the sincerity of your art1 will have worked towards the coming of this new order40 ,but ,rodin answered with a smile3 8,your great friendship accords me too large a place among the champions of modern thought4 ,it is true1 at least1 that ,i have striven to be of use by formulating as clearly as ,i could my vision of people and of things40 ,illustration3 ,,bust ,,of ,,mr4 ,,thomas ,,fortune ,,ryan ,by ,rodin ,photograph reproduced by permission of the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,in a moment he went on3 8,if ,i have insisted on our usefulness1 and if ,i still insist upon it1 it is because this consideration alone can recall to us the sympathy which is our due in the world in which we are living4 ,to-day1 every one is engrossed by self-interest2 but ,i would like to see this practical society convinced that it is at least as much to its advantage to honor the artist as to honor the manufacturer and the engineer40 ,,translations ,page #cg ,ah6 proud and traitorous old age6 ,why have you so soon brought me low8 ,why do you hold me so that ,i cannot strike and with the stroke end my sorrow8 ,pages #ch and #ci ,when ,i think wearily on what ,i was1 of what ,i am1 when ,i see how changed ,i am--poor1 dried-up1 thin--,i am enraged6 ,where is my white forehead--my golden hair--my beautiful shoulders1 all in me made for love8 ,this is the end of human beauty6 ,these short arms1 these thin hands1 these humped shoulders4 ,these breasts--these hips--these limbs--dried and speckled as sausages6 ,pages #dd and #de ,yet one day you will be like this--like this horrible contamination--thou star of my eyes1 thou sun of my nature1 oh my angel and my passion6 ,yes1 such will you be1 oh ,queen of the ,graces1 after the last sacraments--when you are laid under the grass and the flowers1 there to crumble among the bones4 ,then oh1 my beautiful one6 tell the worms1 when they devour you with kisses1 that in spite of them1 in spite of all1 ,i have kept the form and the divine essence of my love who has perished4 ,page #aah ,flesh of the woman1 ideal clay2 oh sublime penetration of the spirit in the slime2 matter1 where the soul shines through its shroud2 clay1 where one sees the fingers of the divine sculptor2 august dust1 which draws kisses1 and the heart of man2 so holy that one does not know--so entirely is love the conqueror1 so entirely is the soul drawn--whether this passion is not a divine thought2 so holy that one cannot1 in the hour when the senses are on fire1 hold beauty without embracing ,god6 ,page #aha ,we never see but one side of things--the other is plunged in night and mystery4 ,man suffers the effect without knowing the cause4 ,all that he sees is short1 useless1 and fleeting4 ,page #ahf ,as when1 in taking flight1 the bird bends the branch1 so his soul had bruised his body4 ,,index ,age d',airain1 ,rodin's1 #fe1 #fg1 #ga1 #gc ,andrea del ,sarto1 #aje1 #ajf ,arc de ,triomphe1 #hc ,aristotle1 #baf ,art1 realism in1 #be-cd2 character in1 #cg-ej2 movement in1 #fe-hi2 drawing and color in1 #ic-ajg2 thought in1 #aea-aga2 mystery in1 #age-ahh ,art1 modern1 ,rodin's views on1 #f ,artist1 usefulness of1 #bbg-bde ,baiser1 ,rodin's1 #ahf ,balzac1 ,rodin's1 #ff1 #adf1 #ahf ,baptistery1 ,florence1 #dj ,barye1 #fg ,bazire1 #ace1 #ach ,beaudelaire1 #dd ,beauty of women1 #aac-aah ,belle ,heaulmire1 ,rodin's1 #cg-db ,berthelot1 ,rodin's bust of1 #adf ,biron1 l',htel de1 #aaa ,bois ,sacr1 ,chavannes'1 #bch ,bourdelle1 #bbg-bdb ,bourgeois de ,calais1 ,rodin's1 #ff1 #he1 #add1 #ahe ,british ,museum1 #bab ,brongniart children1 ,houdon's bust of1 #abb ,burghers of ,calais4 ,see ,bourgeois de ,calais ,busts1 ,rodin's1 #acd-adh1 #ahf ,busts1 ,rodin's views on1 #aba-adh ,byron1 ,lord1 #aeh ,calais1 #hh ,caliari1 #gi ,cambodian dancers1 #aaf ,captives1 ,michael ,angelo's1 #bah ,carpeaux1 #fg1 #aei ,centauress1 ,rodin's1 #afc ,chantilly1 #bja ,character in nature1 #de ,chardin1 #bdj ,charles ,v1 ,titian's1 #aca ,chavannes1 ,puvis de1 #bcg1 #bch1 #bda2 ,rodin's bust of1 #adc ,children of ,edward1 ,delavigne's4 ,see ,enfants d',edouard ,claude ,lorraine1 #ajf ,cnidian ,venus1 #bjf ,color1 ,rodin's views on1 #if-ajg ,color in sculpture1 #fj ,commander1 the1 #gc ,concert ,champtre1 ,giorgione's1 #ahb ,confessions1 ,rousseau's1 #abf ,constant1 #eh ,corneille1 #he ,corot1 #aff1 #agi1 #bda ,correggio1 #aje1 #ajf ,courbet1 #bdj1 #bda ,course d',epsom1 ,gericault's1 #gf ,cuyp1 #aff ,dalou1 #adj-adb2 ,rodin's bust of1 #adj ,dance1 ,carpeaux's1 #fg ,dante1 #fi ,daughter of ,icarus1 ,rodin's4 ,see ,fille d',icare ,david1 #ajd ,delacroix1 #ajc1 #aeh ,delaroche1 #aeg ,delavigne1 ,casimir1 #aeg1 #aeh ,della ,robbia4 ,see ,luca della ,robbia ,dpt des ,marbres1 #be1 #aaa ,despiau1 #bbg1 #bbi1 #bcc ,diadumenes1 #bab ,diana1 ,houdon's1 #aae1 #bcg ,divine ,comedy1 #afj ,don ,juan's ,shipwreck1 ,delacroix's4 ,see ,naufrage de ,don ,juan ,donatello1 #dj1 #bjb ,drawing1 ,rodin's views on1 #ic-ajg ,ducal ,palace1 ,venice1 #gi ,duomo1 the1 #bba ,drer1 ,albrecht1 #ajd1 #ajf ,egyptian sculpture1 #ahj ,embarkation for the ,island of ,cythera1 ,watteau's4 ,see ,embarquement1 etc4 ,embarquement pour ,cythre1 ,watteau's1 #hj1 #hd ,enfants d',edouard1 ,delavigne's1 #aeg ,epsom ,races4 ,see ,course d',epsom ,europa1 #gi ,falguire1 ,rodin's bust of1 #ade-adf ,fille d',icare1 ,rodin's1 #afb ,flesh1 the1 #ef1 #eg ,france1 ,anatole1 #bjc-bjg ,francis ,i1 ,titian's1 #aca ,franklin1 ,houdon's bust of1 #abb1 #abh ,gericault1 #gf1 #gg ,ghirlandajo1 #bjb ,giorgione1 #ahb ,gleaners1 ,millet's1 #ahb ,goethe1 #ahj ,gothic cathedrals1 #aff ,goujon1 ,jean1 #aae1 #bah ,graces1 ,raphael's1 #bja ,greek sculpture1 #aa1 #bg1 #ef1 #eg1 #aad1 #aib-aif1 #bab-bah ,greuze1 #bdj ,hanako1 #aaf ,henner1 #abc ,hercules1 ,bourdelle's1 #bbg ,hercules1 statue of1 #bje ,holbein1 #ajd1 #ajf ,holy ,wood4 ,see ,bois ,sacr ,hommage ,victor ,hugo1 ,chavannes'1 #bch ,homme qui marche1 ,rodin's1 #ff ,houdon1 his busts1 #aae1 #aba1 #abb1 #abe-abi1 #adg1 #adh1 #bcg ,houdon1 ,mme41 ,houdon's bust of1 #abb ,hugo1 ,victor1 #aah1 #ace-ach1 #aha1 #bdc ,hugo1 ,rodin's bust of1 #ace1 #acf1 #acg1 #ach1 #aef ,illusion1 ,rodin's1 #afb ,ingres1 #ajd l',intransigeant1 #ace ,iron ,age4 ,see ,age d',airain ,issy1 #ac ,italians1 the modern1 #aad ,judgment of ,paris1 ,watteau's1 #aae ,laurens1 ,jean-,paul1 ,rodin's bust of1 #add ,literature1 its relation to art1 #aec-afa ,louvre1 the1 #gf1 #gi1 #aja1 #bja1 #baa-bbc ,luca della ,robbia1 #agh ,lucretius1 #bjg ,luxembourg1 ,muse du1 #da1 #fe1 #adj1 #add1 #afa1 #ahg ,lysippus1 #aii1 #bje ,man with the ,hoe1 ,millet's1 #dd ,marchal ,ney1 ,rude's1 #fg1 #fi ,marivaux1 #hd ,marseillaise1 ,la 7newspaper71 #ace ,marseillaise1 ,rude's1 #fg1 #hc1 #hd1 #he1 #bcg ,meditation4 ,see ,penseur ,meudon1 #e1 #cg1 #aaa1 #acd1 #age ,michael ,angelo1 #ig1 #agh2 his work expounded by ,rodin1 #aif-bjb1 #bah-bbc ,millet1 ,franois1 #dc1 #agi1 #ahb1 #bdj1 #bda ,mirabeau1 ,houdon's bust of1 #abb1 #abg ,modelling1 #ec-fa1 #ff ,models1 #bf ,moses1 ,michael ,angelo's1 #bbh ,movement in art1 #fe-hi ,mystery in art1 #age-ahh ,nature1 as seen by ,rodin1 #cj-cd1 #cg-ej ,naufrage de ,don ,juan1 ,delacroix's1 #aeh ,nude1 the1 #bg ,ovid1 #fh ,palais ,royal1 #aef ,pan1 ,bourdelle's1 #bbg ,pantheon1 the1 #add1 #bch ,paris1 #ae1 #aaa1 #bch ,parnassus1 #aja ,parthenon1 the1 #ahc ,paul ,,iii1 ,titian's1 #aca ,pense1 ,rodin's1 #afa ,penseur1 ,rodin's1 #aea-aeb1 #ahe ,peribotos1 torso of1 #bac ,phidias1 #aad1 #afe1 #bah1 #bbb2 his work expounded by ,rodin1 #aib-aif ,philip ,,iv1 ,velasquez's1 #aca ,photographs1 instantaneous1 #gc1 #gd1 #ge1 #gf ,piet1 ,michael ,angelo's1 #bbb ,pilon1 ,germain1 #bah ,pisanello1 #aca ,polycletus1 #aii1 #bab ,pont de l',alma1 #e ,portraits1 #abc-abe1 #abi-acd ,pottery1 #ii ,poussin1 #bcf1 #bci ,praxiteles1 #aii1 #bjf1 #bac ,prudhon1 #bdj ,puget1 #bcf ,pygmalion1 ,rodin's1 #afc1 #afd ,racine1 #de ,raphael1 #ig1 #aja1 #ajb1 #ajc1 #ajd1 #aje1 #ajf1 #ajg1 #bjj ,realism in art1 #be-cd ,rembrandt1 #aja1 #ajb1 #ajc1 #aje1 #ajf1 #ajg1 #afg1 #afh1 #ahg ,robbia1 della4 ,see ,luca della ,robbia ,rochefort1 ,henri1 #ach1 #aci ,rochefort1 ,rodin's bust of1 #ach1 #aci ,rodin1 ,auguste1 his home at ,val-,fleury1 #e2 at the ,dpt des ,marbres1 #be2 his method of work1 #bf-cd2 at 8l',htel de ,biron10 #aaa2 his religion1 #age-agg2 his views on modern art1 #f2 on nature1 #cj-cd1 #cg-ej2 on modelling1 #ec-fa2 on drawing and color1 #ic-ajg2 on beauty of women1 #aaa-aah2 on busts and portraits1 #aba-adh2 on thought in art1 #aea-aga2 on mystery in art1 #age-ahh2 on ,phidias and ,michael ,angelo1 #aia-bjg1 #bah-bbc2 on usefulness of artists1 #bbg-bde ,rousseau1 ,houdon's bust of1 #abe ,rousseau1 ,theodore1 #aff ,rubens1 #ih1 #aje1 #ajf ,rude1 #fg1 #fi1 #hc1 #he1 #bcg ,ruysdael1 #aff ,sainte ,genevive1 ,chavannes'1 #bch ,saint ,george1 #aja ,saint-,jean-,baptiste1 ,rodin's1 #fe1 #fg1 #ga1 #gb1 #gc1 #gd1 #ahe ,saint ,john1 ,rodin's4 ,see ,saint-,jean-,baptiste ,sainte ,magdalene1 ,donatello's1 #dj ,saint-,pierre1 ,eustache de1 #hf1 #hh ,santisimo ,christo1 ,chapel del1 ,burgos1 #age ,sanzio1 #aja ,scopas1 #aii ,sculpture1 ,egyptian1 #ahj ,sculpture1 ,greek1 #aa1 #bg1 #ef1 #eg1 #aad1 #aib-aif1 #bab-bah ,sebastian1 ,velasquez's1 #dc ,shakespeare1 #de ,siena1 #bja ,socit des ,gens de ,lettres1 #adf ,sorbonne1 the1 #bch ,south ,kensington1 #aja ,stained-glass1 #ih ,thiers1 #abg ,three ,fates1 #ahc ,titian1 #ih1 #aca1 #afg1 #afh ,truth in art1 #ca1 #de ,turner1 #ajf ,ugliness in nature1 #db ,ugolin1 ,rodin's1 #aei ,val-,fleury1 ,rodin's home at1 #e ,vatican1 the1 #aja ,velasquez1 #dc1 #aje1 #ajf1 #aca ,venus1 the ,cnidian1 #bjf ,venus of the ,capitol1 #bjf ,venus di ,medici1 #ed1 #bjf ,venus of ,milo1 #bac ,veronese1 #gi1 #ih ,victory of ,samothrace1 #bae ,villain1 #acf ,villon1 #cg ,vinci1 ,leonardo da1 #ahb ,voltaire1 ,houdon's bust of1 #aba1 #abb1 #abf1 #bcg ,washington1 ,houdon's bust of1 #abb ,watteau1 #hj1 #ha1 #he1 #aae1 #bcg1 #bdj ,women1 beauty of1 #aac-aah ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling4 #b4 ,retained anachronistic1 non-standard1 and uncertain spellings as printed4 #c4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4 #d4 ,enclosed bold font in equals4