Rodin’s Bronze Awakening in London
Charlie Cottrell previews the result of an international collaboration that brings the works of Rodin to the Royal Academy.
For an artist so Parisian in his flair and attitude, Rodin had a deep and lasting attachment to Britain and it, in return, to him. British patrons championed his work and raised both his profile and his confidence and he celebrated professional successes in Britain before he was recognized as an established artist in France.
Examples of his work can be found in England that even his dedicated museum in France, the Museé Rodin, do not have copies of, a matter of contention to this day.
Yet despite this minor tension, the Museé Rodin has come together in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts, in London and the Kunsthaus Zurich to produce the first major Rodin exhibition in England for over twenty years.
The Royal Academy of Arts will be the first to house the collection, which draws together more than 200 works from galleries across Europe, many of which have never before been exhibited outside France.