The Kiss (1886) Auguste Rodin Bronze – Large

About Rodin bronze reproduction

This Rodin bronze is based on the couple from Dante’s ‘Inferno’. AUGUSTE RODIN (1840-1917).

In between Romanticism and Impressionism, this self-willed French artist created some of the most famous pieces known in the art of sculpting. Rodin was very talented at conveying feeling in his compositions by emphasizing the body gesture. Also, Rodin bronze’s rough surface texture with deep hollows added strong shadows and naturalism to the body shapes. Rodin’s goal, as he put it, was “to render inner feelings through muscular movement.” He achieved this artistic objective by joining his profound knowledge of anatomy and movement with special attention to the body’s surfaces, saying, “The sculptor must learn to reproduce the surface, which means all that vibrates on the surface, soul, love, passion, life…The sculpture is thus the art of hollows and mounds, not of smoothness, or even polished planes.”

About The Kiss Statue

Like the Thinker, The kiss is also taken from The Gates of Hell, Rodin’s Opus Magnus. Initially, it depicted the figures of Paolo and Francesca from Dante’s Inferno, who were indicted to Hell for eternity since they kissed each other after Francesca had married Paolo’s sibling. In 1893, The Kiss was submitted to the World Columbian Fair in Chicago, however, the American authorities found the statue excessively provocative for a pubic art show. It was displayed in a private space only accessible with an ‘exceptional authorization’. Maybe because of this secret room, the exhibit was extremely successful and right up ’til today The Kiss has stayed a standout amongst the most prevalent of Rodin’s artworks.

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