HUMANITIES 2510 Sculpture Modern Sculpture Modern Impressionism c

HUMANITIES 2510 Sculpture: Modern

Sculpture: Modern • Impressionism (c. 1875 -85) – Rodin (1840 -1917) • • first sculptor of genius since Bernini aim: to create “new classics” poses & themes: derived from Greek Hellenism method: building up of forms rather than chiseling away • surface texture: contrast between unfinished, rough areas vs. polished finish

Sculpture: Modern • Pre-World War I (c. 1905 -10) – Brancusi • first successful alternative to Rodin • aim: search for “essence” of nature, rather than literal and objective depiction • technique: “genius of omission” • style: – cubic – formal simplicity

Sculpture: Modern • Italian Futurism (c. 1915) – Boccioni • aim: – to portray speed & dynamism of contemporary life – to make objects live by showing their extensions in space • process: “systematization of the interpenetration of planes” » force-lines » arabesque curves

Sculpture: Modern • Surrealism (c. 1925 -45) – Henry Moore (1898 -1986) • • forms: massive, biomorphic poses: traditional reclining nude “negative” space --> hollowed out spaces/openings compare/contrast: Classical Greek sculpture

Sculpture: Modern • Surrealism (cont. ) – Calder (1898 -1976) • “mobiles” – delicately balanced constructions of metal wire – hinged together & weighted to move through air • influence of Miró & Surrealism – borrowed biomorphic shapes – similar color scheme (black/white + primaries)

Sculpture: Modern • Post-World War II (c. 1950) – Giacometti (1901 -66) • theme: Existential anxiety – idea of extinction – paradoxical power of emaciated human form • figures: – anti-Classical proportions – yet recall rigid, standing figures of ancient Egypt

Exercises • How did Rodin work within the Classical tradition? How did he break with accepted norms of “finish”? • T/F: Brancusi’s sculpture employs a great use of negative space. • What two (2) elements did Boccioni use to create an “interpenetration” of planes? • T/F: Henry Moore’s biomorphic sculptures are characterized by a use of negative space. • What was innovative about Calder’s Surrealist “mobile” sculptures? • T/F: The anti-Classical proportions in Giacometti’s sculpture correspond to theme of existential anxiety.

IMAGE INDEX • Slide 3: • Slide 4: • Slide 5: RODIN, Auguste. The Thinker (1879 -89), bronze, height 27 1/2”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Comparison between RODIN’s The Thinker and (Greek) Hellenistic style Tiber Muse (c. 200 BC). Comparison between RODIN’s The Thinker and (Greek) Hellenistic style Seated Boxer (c. 50 BC), Bronze, approx. 50” high, Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.

IMAGE INDEX • Slide 6: • Slide 7: • Slide 8: RODIN, Auguste. The Old Courtesan (1885), Bronze, 20 1/8 x 9 7/8 x 11 3/4 in. , Musee Rodin, Paris. Comparison between RODIN’s The Old Courtesan and Hellenistic Old Market Woman (c. 2 nd century BC), marble, 49 1/2”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. RODIN, Auguste. The Kiss (1886), Bronze, 87 x 51 x 55 cm. , Musee Rodin, Paris.

IMAGE INDEX • Slide 9: • Slide 11: • Slide 12: Comparison between RODIN’s The Kiss and (Greek) Hellenistic Eros and Psyche (c. 150 BC), marble, 49” high, Museo Capitolino, Rome. BRANCUSI, Constantin. The Kiss (1907), Stone, 11 in. , Muzuel de Arta, Craiova, Romania. Comparison between BRANCUSI, Constantin. The Kiss (1907) and RODIN’s The Kiss (1886).

IMAGE INDEX • Slide 14: • Slide 15: • Slide 17: BOCCIONI, Umberto. Unique Form of Continuity in Space (1913), Bronze, 126. 4 x 89 x 40. 6 cm, Private collection, Rome. Comparison between BOCCIONI’s Unique Form of Continuity in Space (1913) and (Greek) Hellenistic Nike of Samothrace (c. 200 BC). MOORE, Henry. Recumbant Figure (1938), stone, length approx. 54”, Tate Gallery, London.

IMAGE INDEX • Slide 18: • Slide 20: • Slide 21: Comparison between MOORE’s Recumbant Figure (1938) and Classical Greek Three Goddesses (c. 450 BC), from the east pediment of the Parthenon. CALDER, Alexander. Lobster Trap and Fish Tail (1939), painted steel wire and sheet aluminum, approx. 8’ 6” x 9’ 6”, The Museum of Modern Art (Mo. MA), New York. Comparison between CALDER’s Lobster Trap and Fish Tail (1939) and MIRO’s Carnival of Harlequin (c. 1925).

IMAGE INDEX • Slide 23: • Slide 24: GIACOMETTI, Alberto. Tall Figure (c. 1950), Painted bronze. Comparison between ancient Egyptian Priest (c. 1800 BC) and GIACOMETTI’s Tall Figure (c. 1950).