Monday 31 January 2022

Rodin - The Kiss

 

As you know, I go to great lengths to provide a varied diet on this Blog. Different articles to cater for different tastes.

Today it is art. We focus on Auguste Rodin's statue in marble known as The Kiss, or Le Baiser in French, completed in 1882.

Originally entitled Francesca da Rimini because it was in fact meant to be the 13th-century Italian noblewoman from Dante's "Inferno" (Circle 2, Canto 5).

Here's the Dante story. Francesca fell in love with her husband's younger brother, Paolo. They fell in love whilst reading a story about Lancelot and Guinevere. 

Her husband Giovanni Malatesta, (which means John Headache), discovers them and he kills both of them.

In the sculpture, if you look carefully, the book about Lancelot is seen in Paolo's hand. You can't see it in this photo but the book is behind Francesca's backside . 

Also, in the sculpture, the couple's lips do not actually touch, suggesting that they were interrupted by Giovanni and killed before they actually kissed.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

For some inexplicable reason Rodin decided it would be a good idea to make a marble statue of the moment they were interrupted before kissing, or doing anything else like playing monopoly for instance.

Obviously, he can't chisel a big block of marble from memory, so I'm guessing he used two models to sit still in this pose as he chipped away at the marble.

Looking at the statue, it must have been very uncomfortable for both of them to sit still in this position for ages. Her back is half-twisted and she is leaning on him. It must have been freezing too sitting on a piece of cold marble.

The poor lad must have been very nervous considering where her knee is placed!

Mind you, she's probably not overjoyed either. She's probably whispering, "You move your hand one inch and I'll knock your head off!"

Eventually, when the sculpture was finished it quickly became controversial because of what and who it represented. When critics first saw it in 1887, they suggested the less specific title Le Baiser (The Kiss).

Strange, but true ... I think!

17 comments:

  1. ...what a messy relationship,

    ReplyDelete
  2. HeHe! I've just this minute finished laying
    a new carpet in the dinning room..so..l've
    been on my knees for a couple of hours, not
    wasted l assure you, a few times l looked
    upwards, and asked the Lord to make this bit
    fit...! And..it did! :O0

    I digress..
    I must say, l'm into a bit of art..
    Michelangelo and all those types..!
    Rodin's sculptor though actually represent
    a pair of doomed adulterers from Dante’s
    Inferno..and he was was one of the first
    artists to be curious about the sexual
    experience of women...
    And it is a cleaned-up, tasteful rendition
    of desire..Not lust!

    And..I've just had a quick look on line and
    you can purchase replicas from £3.70 to £2,700.
    Depending on size and colour..Think l'll give
    it a miss..

    Just for fun..there is a pianting called 'The Kiss'
    by Gustav Klimt..now that is really desirable....
    Give it a Google..you'll be amazed..! :O).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I prefer Rodin's to Klimt's version.

      God bless, Willie.

      Delete
  3. I hate sitting still for a long time, it becomes very uncomfortable.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks so much, and I thought it was just some dudes idea of a lewd sculpt. I needed an art lesson. You did a good job (I think also), just sayin'
    Sherry and jack. (I actually did not let Sherry see this, she would think nude men should look like this, then YOU would be in trouble.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I agree with Sherry. Nude men should look handsome like this guy. And nude women should look like this Francesca person.

      God bless you, Jack and Sherry.

      Delete
  5. I'd no idea the history behind Rodin's sculpture! See, I learned something new every day! Who needs Cliff's Notes 'cheat sheets' when we have Victor Moubarak?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Mevely, the history is true. The statue is based on Dante's book.

      I'll try some more art posts in future.

      God bless you.

      Delete
  6. I didn't know any of this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dearest Victor,
    No thanks, no money could ever buy me to sit as a model for any art!
    Dante too selected a tragic story but it might have had some truth in it somehow and then story woven around it.
    SAD and murder is never a solution... For heaven's sake NO.
    So glad that there will be a real Judge at the end of our lives and he will handle it all according to what each one deserves.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it is a sad Dante story. Rodin based this sculpture on the story of Francesca and Paolo. It must have been very difficult sitting like that for the artist - embarrassing too!

      God bless, Mariette.

      Delete
  8. I suspect a sketch was made of the models in that position, then the sculpture made by copying the sketch. No one can sit like that for the length of time it would take to chip away all that marble. Even dead bodies would sag and fall.
    It is a lovely statue though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Rodin sculpted that statue by using another similar statue as his model. That's how he did it.

      God bless, River.

      Delete

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