Rethinking Rodin. An Evaluative Biography.

The sculptures of Auguste Rodin have gained worldwide recognition and are amongst the most beloved artworks in our times. This worldwide adoration has added to the cult or genius surrounding the artist, which has reached deep into popular understanding of his works. This thesis will try to lift the myth of genius from Rodin’s works and see how his work has been valorised over the years. The underlying idea is that is has less to do with his genius, but more with the wide dissemination of his work that Rodin has reached such fame. The main research question that has shaped this thesis, is the following: how has the reproducible nature of sculpture affected the valuation of originality and authenticity in the work of Auguste Rodin? In order to answer this question, this thesis has taken on the analytical narrative approach, which made the modelling of historical processes possible. The sources that have been used to write this analytical narrative are both primary sources and secondary literature. The thesis is divided into four chapters that each represent a moment of dissonance. It is believed that in these situations, when something new enters the market, that it becomes clear what is valued in society and what is not. For this thesis, the innovation that caused the dissonance, was always a new development in the reproduction process of Rodin’s work. Through an extensive research in historical sources, this thesis made clear that the relation between reproducibility and the valuation of art is highly complex. Whereas one would expect that reproductions would easily be cast aside as commodities, this thesis has shown that in the case of Rodin, the reproductions at times even underlined the singular state of his work, building up to the cult of his artistic genius. This effect was created through clever framing and institutionalizing of his multiples. It was only at the end, when this thesis reached contemporary times, that we could localize a shift in the meaning of the Rodin reproductions. This was caused by the pure market-oriented purpose of these multiples. This practice also influenced the valuation of Rodin himself, who has changed from an artist into a popular icon.