'Rodin learnt from Michelangelo’s ability to show internal pain and suffering through the gestures of the whole body noting that, ‘It is Michelangelo who has freed me from academic sculpture.’ In describing the greatness of Michelangelo, it was experience of suffering that was emphasised: ‘Michelangelo was only the last and greatest of the Gothics. The turning in of the soul upon itself, suffering, a disgust with life, struggle against the chains of matter, such are the elements of his inspiration … he himself has been tortured by melancholy.’
Rodin also saw suffering and conflict as characteristic of modern art, saying, ‘Nothing is more moving than the maddened beast, dying from unfulfilled desire and asking in vain for grace to quell its passion.’ As Rachel Corbett notes in ‘You Must Change Your Life,’ her biography of Rodin and his secretary, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, to Rodin’ punishment was the condition of the living’ as his vision of Dante’s hell ‘mirrored the realities of life in Paris at the fin de siècle‘ because its inhabitants were ‘living in a nightmare of their own earthly passions.’
My other pieces for Artlyst are:
Interviews -
- Louis Carreon: Sampling Art History
- Modus Operandi - What Makes Successful Public Art: Vivien Lovell Interviewed
- Genesis Tramaine: A Queer Devotional Painter
- Lakwena Maciver: Review-Interview Hastings Contemporary
- Nicola Ravenscroft - Sculpture With A Peaceful Stillness
- Artist Hannah Rose Thomas – Tears of Gold – Interview
- Marcus Lyon: Human Atlas Explorations
- Elizabeth Kwant Interview
- Helaine Blumenfeld: Undulating Structures
- National Gallery Explores ‘Sin’ In New Exhibition – Interview Dr Joost Joustra Curator
- Betty Spackman: Posthumanism Debates
- Christopher Clack: Connecting The Material And Immaterial
- Peter Howson Artlyst Interview
- Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker On The Legacy Of ArtWay
- Alastair Gordon A Testament To His Faith
- Katrina Moss Chaiya Art Awards Interview: Where is God in our 21st century world?
- Apocalypse Now: Michael Takeo Magruder Interviewed
- Jonathan Anderson: Religious Inspirations Behind Modernism
- Caravan – An Interview With Rev Paul Gordon Chandler On Arts Peacebuilding
- Art Awakening Humanity Alexander de Cadenet Interviewed
- Michael Pendry New Installation Lights Up St Martin In The Fields
- Mark Dean Projects Stations of the Cross Videos On Henry Moore Altar
Articles -
- Barbara Hepworth: Symbols Of Art & Life – Hepworth Wakefield
- 20th Century Women Artists Challenging Conventions In Britain
- Chaiya Art Awards 2021 Gallery OXO
- Marc Chagall’s Exquisite Stained Glass Window Commissions
- George Gittoes Equal parts artist and warrior
- Keith Haring: Personal Spiritual Imagery
- Sean Scully: Philosophical Poetic Pastoral The 12 / Dark Windows
- Arthur Jafa: The Art Of Cutting And Pasting
- Blackpentecostal Breath: Spirit-Led Movement Jumps From Music To Visual Art
- Made in USA Ed Ruscha An American Perspective
- Robert Smithson: The Archetypal Nature Of Things
- If Jesus Is A Man Of Colour Why Did We Make Him Aryan?
- Cosmic Patches And Quilts Five Exhibitions
- Everyday Heroes: Southbank Exhibition Celebrates Low-paid Key Workers
- Entwining Spiritualism And Art – Three Shows
- Of Church And The Visual Arts
- Has The Word Master Reached Its Sell-By Date?
- The People Behind Community Is Kindness Billboard Campaign
- André Daughtry: Art, Rebellion And Racial Justice
- Salisbury Cathedral 800 Years Of Art And Spirit
- Home Alone Together Twenty Five Artists
- Botanical Mind Online: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree
- Salvador Dalí The Enigma of Faith
- Art And Faith A Time For Seeing
- Andy Warhol: Catholicism His Work, Faith And Legacy
- Kiki Smith: Embodied Art
- Art and Christianity Awards A Positive New Millennium Legacy
- Arnulf Rainer: 90th Birthday Exhibition Celebrated At Albertina Museum
- A Belonging Project And Exiles Loss and Displacement
- Robert Polidori: Fra Angelico Opus Operantis
- Art, Faith, Church Patronage and Modernity
- Contemplating the Spiritual in Contemporary Art
- Mat Collishaw Challenges Faith Perspectives With Ushaw Installation
- Waterloo Festival Launches At St. John’s Waterloo
- John Bellany Alan Davie Spiritual Joy and Magic
- RIFT Unites 17 Art and Science MA Graduates At Central St Martins
- Visionary Cities: Michael Takeo Magruder – British Library
- Van Gogh’s Religious Journey Around London
- William Congdon Holy Sites And The Kettle’s Yard Connection
- Mark Dean Premieres Pastiche Mass At Banqueting Hall Chelsea College of Arts
- John Kirby: The Torment
- Underlying The Civilised Facade
- Curating Spiritual Sensibilities In Changing Times
- Homeless Highlighted: New Beau Exhibition At St Martin-in-the-Fields
- Ken Currie: Protest Defeat And Victory
- Bosco Sodi: A Moment Of Genesis
- Bill Viola And The Art Of Contemplation
- Art In Churches 2018: Spiritual Combinations Explored
- Sister Wendy Beckett – A Reminiscence
- Guido Guidi: Per Strada Flowers Gallery London
- Peter Howson: The play is over – Flowers Gallery
- Camille Henrot: Scientific History And Creation Story Mash Up
- Nicola Green Explores Recent And Contemporary Religious Leaders – St Martin-in-the-Fields
- Art And The Consequences Of War Explored In Two Exhibitions
- Helaine Blumenfeld Translating Her Vision
- Sam Ivin: Physically Scratched Portraits Of Asylum Seekers Exhibited
- Sacred Noise: Explores Religion, Faith And Divinity
- Bill Viola: Quiet Contemplative Video Installation St Cuthbert’s Church Edinburgh
- The ground-breaking work of Sister Corita Kent
- Picasso To Souza: The Crucifixion Imagery Rarely Exhibited
- Michael Takeo Magruder: De / coding the Apocalypse – Panacea Museum
- Giorgio Griffa: The Golden Ratio And Inexplicable Knowledge
- Arabella Dorman Unveils New Installation At St James Church Piccadilly
- Can Art Transform Society?
- Art Awakening Humanity Conference Report
- Central St Martins in the Fields Design Then And Now
- The Sacramental And Liturgical Nature Of Conceptual Art
- Polish Art In Britain Centenary Marked At London’s Ben Uri Gallery
- Refugee Artists Learning from The Lives Of Others
- The Religious Impulses Of Robert Rauschenberg
- The Christian Science Connection Within The British Modern Art Movement
- Artists Rebranding The Christmas Tree Tradition
- Art Impacted - A Radical Response To Radicalisation
- The Art of St Martin-in-the-Fields
- Was Caravaggio A Good Christian?
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This Picture - Death's Sweet Religion.
