Rodin – A Guilty Pleasure

One of Frances’ self-confessed guilty pleasures is chocolate; one of mine is the work of Rodin.

Why guilty? Well, for one thing, biographies of A. Rodin reveal him to have been a fairly self-absorbed, manipulative, egotistical human being – in other words, a lot like many, including myself.

So, for me, his sculptures act as a kind of mirror, reflecting my own faults. In this way they are healthy reminders of the way I can treat others, especially those with whom I interact most closely; this includes family and friends, and colleagues I see daily.

There is another, not so healthy, reason that Rodin is a guilty pleasure. This relates to my culture’s (southern, religious, conservative, American) obsession with ‘stop it or you will go blind.’ I hasten to add that I am unapologetic in my belief that sex should be limited to the confines of marital vows. I also hasten to add that such sex should, and can, be mind-blowingly fantastic. I realize that Rodin’s depictions of women were likely often of subjects who were not his spouse, and possibly more often than not, mistresses. I am sorry for this, but they still remind me of the beauty of sexual interactions between husband and wife.

 

Now, for the ‘pleasure’ part. The fact that I want to write ‘Get your minds out of the gutter’ reflects again the tension between my guilty and pleasing feelings associated with Rodin’s art. But, a portion of my pleasure in looking at his sculptures is indeed because it brings to mind very good times. Enough revealed (as it is, my children will be once again insisting that I ‘Get a room!’). But, his art (and of course that of any master) goes so much further than this. Look at the detail, the way in which agony, ecstasy, peacefulness, contemplation are revealed not just by the poses captured, but also by the manner in which the muscles and tendons are arranged; in the texture of the skin; in the way in which multiple figures, rather than having been sculpted out of a rock, seem to have been separately created and then melted into one another.

Amazing, just amazing. I think I will continue to hold onto this particular guilty pleasure.