Unformatted text preview:

page 1page 2page 3page 4page 5page 6page 7page 8page 9page 10page 11page 12aChapter 12Why Was Rodin Commissionedto Make the Doors:The Turquet-Rodin meeting produced one of the seminal works of relief sculpture inWestern art:The Gates of Hell,originally commissioned for the entrance of the Museedes Arts Decoratifs. In his 1887 interviews with Truman Bartlett, Rodin provided thebasis for posterity's view of the commission: "It was a valiant thing for Turquet to giveRodin the doors in face of opposition of the Institute" (the Institut de France, of whichthe Academic des Beaux-Arts is one of the five classes); "Every masterpiece is the resultof a martyrdom"; and "Rodin says Turquet created him."' In the same year, Turquettold Bartlett: "I was sure ... that I had discovered a great artist, one fully capable ofexecuting any task confided to him. The result, as is now well-known, has amplyconfirmed my judgment. "'- In these accounts Turquet stands out as an administratorwith unique taste, a penchant for risk, and the courage to stand up for an unknown artistin whom he believed-in other words, a heroic figure.Strangely enough, the door was intended for a building that did not exist. In hisexcitement at being commissioned to do a bronze door-one of the most covetedassignments a sculptor could receive-Rodin apparently ignored the risk he ran inaccepting it, for how could he be sure the building would materialize? As he told thestory: "It is to M. Turquet that I owe this commission.... At that time it was aquestion of constructing a palace for the decorative arts on the place where the oldCour des Comptes once stood-what is the Gare d'Orleans today. They proposed forme to execute a monumental door that would be included in the project of the engineer,Berger. I accepted and, with the consent of M. Turquet, I decided to makeThe Gates ofHell."3Rodin's wording was intentionally vague, for in fact when he accepted thecommission, no one knew where or when the museum would be built. The intention tobuild the Musee des Arts Decoratifs on the site of the former Cour des Comptes wasnot made clear until 1882, two years after Rodin received the commission.4In the end itwas never built. Why the undersecretary of fine arts wanted a potentially superfluousbronze door is a mystery. The answer, as is so often the case in France, has to do withpolitics and is embedded in the history of the decorative arts movement of the secondhalf of the nineteenth century.French recognition that a museum of decorative arts ought to exist dates from 1851and the Universal Exhibition in London. On this occasion the decorative arts came tothe fore as being central to competition among the Western nations. Charles-ErnestClerget was a French delegate to the exhibition. When he returned to address theComite Central des Artistes Industriels in Paris, his basic message was: "We need tocreate a museum of industrial arts. "s From the beginning this idea was couched in termsof international competition, particularly with Great Britain. The 1857 opening of theMuseum of South Kensington (later renamed the Victoria and Albert) only intensifiedFrench desire for a museum of decorative arts.The energy for the foundation of such an institution came from the Union Centraledes Beaux-Arts Appliquesal'Industrie (Central Union of the Fine Arts Applied toIndustry), a group founded in 1864 by commercial artists, ornamental sculptors, metalworkers, and designers. Its headquarters were in the place Royale (now the place desVosges), in the quarter where many of the Parisian craftsmen had their studios. Rodinknew and admired at least one of these organizers, Jules Klagmann, a gifted ornamentalsculptor who worked in a Romantic style. Rodin knew all about the union; he may evenhave participated in some of its activities.The need for a decorative arts museum came into focus even more sharply after thewar of 1870-71, when some of the finest woodwork, furniture, textiles, and ceramicsof the ancien regime were destroyed. This immense loss prompted a new group tochampion the cause. In contrast to the artists and artisans who had led the movementuntil then, they were aristocratic collectors, many of whom specialized in the decora-tive arts of the eighteenth century. Thus, what had started out as a producers' associa-tion was taken over by a wealthy group of amateurs who wished to preserve works ofart and to educate the citizens of France in the elegant beauty through which theythemselves defined the achievements ofFrenchgenius.6In 1876 the Union Centrale opened a national subscription for the creation of amuseum of decorative arts. They placed full-page advertisements inLArtwhichopened with the statement that twenty years earlier France's superiority in all the artshad been unquestioned. Today, however, "the Ministere de Commerce announces thatour exports are dropping in comparison to those of our competitors, and especially incomparison to England, whose exports are on the rise." A museum of decorative artshad become not just a matter of artistic glory, but also of millions of francs every year.The question was, how could France regain its superiority? The answer was all tooclear: "Do what England did-spread a feeling and a taste for the arts throughout theland by a process of intelligent education, by accumulating chefs d'oeuvre in a museumwhere everyone can see them, study them, and compare them to each other. Englandfounded South Kensington; France will now found a museum of decorative arts."7In 1877, the Society for the Musee des Arts Decoratifs was founded under theleadership of the due d'Audiffred-Pasquier. As director of fine arts, the marquis deChennevieres recommended the government recognize the new society, which waslooking for a suitable location for the museum. He himself favored the Jardin desTuileries.8When Chennevieres resigned in 1878, he became an energetic and outspokenmember of the society's Committee of Directors. His first major effort was to mountan Exhibition of Old Master Drawings of Decoration and Ornament. He includedexamples from his own splendid collection, as well as from those of Edmond de1421880-89IThe Doors143Goncourt, the due d'Aumale, the comte de la Baudriere, and Alexandre Dumas. Thesewealthy collectors were determined to educate public taste. They mounted their showin the galleries of the Louvre and then moved it to the, Palais de l'Industrie, where it ranconcurrently with Turquet's notorious Salon of 1880. The two


View Full Document

MSU HA 446 - LECTURE NOTES

Course: Ha 446-
Pages: 12
Download LECTURE NOTES
Our administrator received your request to download this document. We will send you the file to your email shortly.
Loading Unlocking...
Login

Join to view LECTURE NOTES and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or
We will never post anything without your permission.
Don't have an account?
Sign Up

Join to view LECTURE NOTES 2 2 and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or

By creating an account you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use

Already a member?