Michelangelo & Auguste Rodin
Both Michelangelo and Auguste Rodin worked in marble for the pieces I am comparing but their purpose for doing the work were very different as well as the reactions to each piece. Michelangelo was commissioned to sculpt David by the church, whereas Auguste Rodin originally did this piece as “another one of his sculptures” but did end up getting paid for his work as it was put in exhibitions. The reaction to David was amazement, they changed the original placement of the sculpture because of its outstanding beauty, but with Rodin's “The kiss” the initial reaction was shock, and the public questioned if it was appropriate. These artworks are known as two of the best marble sculptures and yet they were done centuries apart.
In 1501, 25-year-old Michelangelo Buonarroti began working on his colossal masterpiece, the 17-foot-tall marble David. From a huge block of marble that had been abandoned decades earlier by another sculptor, Michelangelo took on the challenge of living up to Donatello and other precursors who had sculpted the same heroic figure. The David, portrayed in the Bible as a young shepherd who slew the giant Goliath and went on to become a valiant and just Hebrew king, was a fit symbol of courage and civic duty to guard the city of Florence.It was commissioned with the idea that it would stand in a niche on one of the cathedral’s tribunes, way up high. When Michelangelo was finished, they realized that it was far too beautiful to be placed up high, and so it was decided to build a base for the sculpture and to place it right in front of the main government building of Florence. The David is considered a masterpiece, an ideal male form combining heroic strength and human uncertainty. It was erected in 1504 in the public plaza of Florence, the Piazza della Signoria. In 1873, the original was moved to the Accademia delle Belle Arti, where it was better protected for posterity, and a copy of the work was erected in the plaza in 1882.
The Kiss was designed to be viewed from every angle and Rodin wanted the piece to be believable and real.In 1888, the French government ordered the first large-scale marble version of The Kiss from Rodin for the 1889 Exposition universelle, but it was publicly displayed for the first time in the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1898. It was so popular that the company Barbedienne offered Rodin a contract to produce a limited number of smaller copies in bronze. In 1900 the statue was moved to the Musée du Luxembourg before being taken to its current location, the Musée Rodin, in 1918.Rodin chose to construct the lovers in the nude as he believed adding details such as clothing distracted the viewer from the raw emotion which they should feel when looking upon a sculpture.The way in which Rodin has entwined the lovers gives this sculpture movement and energy.Like many artists of his time, Rodin saw the creation of sculpture as the culmination of minds and relied heavily on the skill of his assistances. Running a large workshop, Rodin meticulously governed the creation of his sculptures, drawing on the experience he gained in commercial workshops during his youth.
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Year
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1882
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Type
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Marble
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Artist
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Year
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1882
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Type
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bronze
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Created: 1902
Artist
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Year
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1501–1504
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Type
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Artist
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Year
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1498–1499
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Type
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Marble
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*
Artist: Michelangelo
Technique: fresco
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