Plate LX - The Kiss...
Rodin’s amorous pursuits were the subject of much society talk during his lifetime. In 1864 at the age of twenty three he began a lifetime affair with the seamstress Rose Beuret, finally marrying her at age seventy seven, only months before her death in Febraury 1917. Rodin was to die only nine months later.
A man of undoubted passion and ardour he conducted many affairs including one for fourteen years with his student, muse, collaborator and model Camille Claudel. The affair was ended in 1898 perhaps because of, but certainly contributing to, Claudel’s increasing madness.
Rodin completed other works of couples ‘in flagrante delicto’, but none as passionate as this 1886 highlight of the museum collection, another study for the Gates of Hell.
I took this picture specifically for a couple of friends of mine who had a small marble cast replica of The Kiss in their home (consigned to a private bedroom space). A source of debate between this husband and wife, Rodin’s work was once deemed improper and unsuitable for public display.
It remains indoors - in the Hotel Biron in Paris.
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