Sculpture Since Rodin
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Transcript of Sculpture Since Rodin
Yale University and Yale University Art Gallery are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toBulletin of the Associates in Fine Arts at Yale.
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Yale University
Sculpture since Rodin Author(s): Lamont Moore Source: Bulletin of the Associates in Fine Arts at Yale, Vol. 17, No. 1, Sculpture since Rodin (Jan
., 1949)Published by: , acting through the Yale University Yale University Art GalleryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40513674Accessed: 12-08-2015 21:07 UTC
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RODIN, Auguste 30. THE THINKER
Photograph of cast owned by The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio.
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Catalogue oí Exhibition
SCULPTURE SINCE RODIN
January 14 through February 13
1949
Yale University Art Gallery
New Haven, Connecticut
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The Gallery gratefully acknowledges loans to the exhibition from the following:
Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Buchholz Gallery, New York
Miss Katherine S. Dreier, Milford, Connecticut
Mr. Naum Gabo, Woodbury, Connecticut
Mrs. Francis P. Garvan, New York
Mrs. Aldus C. Higgins, Worcester, Massachusetts
Mr. Joseph H. Hirshhorn, Port Chester, New York
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Miller Company, Meriden, Connecticut
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Mr. Isamu Noguchi, New York
Betty Parsons Gallery, New York
Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3d, New York
Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York
Mr. Henry Rox, South Hadley, Massachusetts
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
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FOREWORD
Auguste Rodin, the great French sculptor, sketched his "Gate of Hell/7 he
placed "The Thinker" over the double doors. This figure, made famous by repetitions large and small, became the sculptor's most noted work, typical of him in that it was a bronze depicting an heroic form. Rodin, as the inheri- tor of sculptural ages before him, the Greek and Roman, the Gothic and the Renaissance, combined ideas from the past with those of his own and his period so that he stands as the expression of his sculptural age. Let us imagine that his figure of "The Thinker" symbolized the art of sculpture at the turn of the century, sculpture like one of its favored subjects, Hercules, in this case debating at the cross- roads the course he was to follow.
As the history of sculpture in the twenti- eth century has proven, broadly stated, it chose to travel three roads: sculpture devel-
oped around natural forms, sculpture de-
veloped away from natural forms, and
sculpture developed out of form, space, color, motion. The first represents the type which we know best: sculpture which presents usually the human figure, recognizable as such, whether it was serenely "classic" as in the work of Despiau, Maillol, Kolbe and Nadelman, expressive of emotion in the German group of Barlach and Marcks, or idealized and made
mysterious in the work of Lehmbruch; the
arrangement and weight, the masses of the human body formed the core of this sculpture, with surfaces smooth for the light to caress, or ridged and broken for the light to strike. More recent and contemporary sculptors have chosen to invest their works with varying char- acteristics, ebullient, grotesque, humorous or the seriously emotional, and in this group we find Lachaise, Robus, Laurent and Rox. That these sculptors have extended the possibilities of adherence to natural form and at the same time maintained the traditions inherited from the past is proof that this kind of sculpture has
by no means become quiescent. The middle road, sculpture developed
away from natural forms even so far as to reach a point of complete abstraction, in-
cludes the largest number of recent and contemporary sculptors, some of whom have chosen to follow this road the entire way, others only so far and then developed their style at that particular point.
The flattened planes, a tendency toward angularity, show the beginnings in such work as Underwood's. These find more developed expression in the sculpture related to cubist painting, the frankly geometric and assembled elements of Archipenko and Pevsner, the glyptic early Lipchitz and Zadkine. Quite different from the squared facets of the Lipchitz, Flannagan's rugged treatment of his stone produces a timeless aspect in his work. These two pieces illustrate the importance of the material in the eyes of the modern sculp- tor, how it may be treated in different ways and yet preserve its own character whether it is stone, metal or plastic. In contrast, the later pieces by Lipchitz are explosive, ener- getic, further along the way toward complete abstraction which is reached in diverse forms by Brancusi, Storrs, Hare and Noguchi. In fact, the word "diverse" might be applied to the work of these sculptors who have followed the middle road, obviously not a conservative well-worn path, but leading to enlarged expe- rience of forms as seen in nature.
Sculpture developed out of form and
space is a comparatively recent manifestation in the history of art. Followers of this third road employ elements hitherto unused, or pre- viously used only as contributing factors. One of these elements is space calculated in pro- portion to the tangible elements in the sculp- ture. Whether these compositions of space and matter are devised in terms of precision as in the work of Gabo, in terms of color as in the work of de Rivera, in terms of color and motion as in the work of Calder, or in terms of
expression as in the work of Lipton, space and form are closely interrelated and considered of equal importance. Such pieces of sculpture to a greater or lesser degree follow laws cur- rent in contemporary architectural design and indicate possibilities for future integration of
sculpture with the mother of the arts.
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The work of one artist may fall into sev- eral divisions, may show constant develop- ment and in some cases relate to all three of the approaches to sculpture herein, of neces- sity, briefly and categorically presented. As examples of sculpture which exhibit combined elements sufficiently defined to be readily sensed, the works of Moore and Callery may be cited. Both use the subject of recognizable human form, in the case of Moore, impos- ingly - though the scale is sometimes small, the effect aims toward grandeur and im- pressiveness. In the case of Callery the linear, rhythmic elements produce an effect of gaiety and humor no less valid for a sculptural work. Both sculptors simplify the human form to a point where it approaches abstraction. Both use space consciously, Callery in an expansive
way, Moore in a restrained way. Thus these two artists combine the current trends in sculpture as do many others presented in the exhibition.
In planning this exhibition, most appro- priately but inexorably, space has presented a problem. The artists represented could have been more comprehensively shown if unlimited space were available, and there are many sculptors omitted whose works, for the same reason, might well have been presented. It is hoped that they will be included in future exhibitions and that the present one will in- crease awareness of the intent, techniques, and aesthetics of contemporary sculpture, thereby creating a more perceptive audience for sculpture of the future.
LAMONT MOORE
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CATALOGUE
ARCHIPENKO, Alexander 1. THE METAL LADY Copper and brass, 1923
Yale University Art Gallery Gift of Katherine S. Dreier for the
Collection Société Anonyme
BARLACH, Ernst 2. SINGING MAN 1870-1938 Bronze, 1928
Lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York The Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Purchase Fund
BRANCUSI, Constantin 3. BIRD AT REST Marble
Lent by Miss Katherine S. Dreier, Milford, Connecticut
CALDER, Alexander 4. BOUGAINVILLEA Sheet metal and wire, 1947 Lent by The Miller Company, Meriden, Connecticut
CALLERY, Mary 5. FLOATING FIGURE Bronze, glass and wood, 1947
Lent by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3d, New York
6. AMITY (STUDY) Bronze, 1946
Lent by The Miller Company, Meriden, Connecticut
DESPIAU, Charles 7. SEATED YOUTH: MONUMENT TO EMIL MAYRISCH 1874-1946 Bronze, 1932
Lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
FLANNAGAN, John B. 8. TRIUMPH OF THE EGG I 1889-1942 Granite, 1937
Lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York
GABO, Naum 9- KINETIC STONE Portland stone, 1936
Lent by the artist
10. SPHERIC THEME, VARIATION II Translucent Plastic, 1937
Lent by the artist
HARE, David 11. THE RED KNIGHT Plaster, 1943
Collection of the Yale University Art Gallery Gift of Peggy Guggenheim
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KOLBE, Georg 12. JUNGE FRAU 1877-1947 Bronze, 1929
Lent by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3d, New York
LACHAISE, Gaston 13. STANDING WOMAN 1882-1935 Bronze, 1927
Lent anonymously through the courtesy of the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
LAURENT, Robert 14. AMERICAN BEAUTY Alabaster, 1933
Lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York The Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Purchase Fund
LEHMBRUCH, Wilhelm 15. TORSO 1881-1919 Cast stone, 1910
Lent by the Buchholz Gallery, New York
LIPCHITZ, Jacques 16. PEGASUS (STUDY) Bronze, 1944
Lent by The Miller Company, Meriden, Connecticut
17. PROMETHEUS Bronze, 1942
Lent by Mrs. Aldus C. Higgins, Worcester, Massachusetts
18. RAPE OF EUROPA II Bronze, 1938
Lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York Given Anonymously
19. MAN WITH MANDOLIN Stone, 1916-1917
Yale University Art Gallery Collection Société Anonyme
LIPTON, Seymour 20. MOLOCH Bronze, 1946
Lent by the Betty Parsons Gallery, New York
MAILLOL, Aristide 21. WOMAN WITH CRAB 1861-1944 Bronze, 1905
Lent anonymously through the courtesy of the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
MARCKS, Gerhard 22. GIRL WITH HAT Bronze, 1948
Lent by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3d, New York
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MOORE, Henry 23. FAMILY Bronze, 1946
Lent by Mr. Joseph H. Hirshhom, Port Chester, New York
24. RECLINING FIGURE Elm wood, 1935
Lent by the Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
NADELMAN, Elie 25. HEAD 1882-1946 Marble, 1922
Lent by Mrs. Francis P. Garvan, New York
NOGUCHI, Isamu 26. TO THE SUNFLOWER Green slate, 1948
Lent by the artist
PEVSNER, Antoine 27. PORTRAIT OF DUCHAMP Celluloid on zinc, 1926
Yale University Art Gallery Collection Société Anonyme
de RIVERA, Jose 28. BLACK, YELLOW AND RED Painted metal, 1942
Lent by The Miller Company, Meriden, Connecticut
ROBUS, Hugo 29. SONG Bronze, 1934 Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
RODIN, Auguste 30. THE THINKER 1840-1917 Bronze, 1879-1900
Lent by Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York
ROX, Henry 31. I WILL NOT LET THEE GO Terra cotta, 1945
Lent by the artist
STORRS, John 32. THE DANCER Terra cotta
Lent by Miss Katherine S. Dreier, Milford, Connecticut
UNDERWOOD, Leon 33. RUNNING TORSO Brass, 1930
Yale University Art Gallery Gift of Mr. Philip L. Goodwin
ZADKINE, Ossip 34. YOUNG GIRL WITH A BIRD Granite, 1938
Lent by the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
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DESPIAU, Charles 7. SEATED YOUTH: MONUMENT TO EMIL MAYRISCH
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
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MARCKS, Gerhard 22. GIRL WITH HAT
Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3d, New York
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ROX, Henry 31. I WILL NOT LET THEE GO
Lent by the artist
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ROBUS, Hugo 29. SONG
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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UNDERWOOD, Leon 33. RUNNING TORSO
Yale University Art Gallery
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ZADKINE, Ossip 34. YOUNG GIRL WITH A BIRD
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
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LIPCHITZ, Jacques 19. MAN WITH MANDOLIN
Yale University Art Gallery
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MOORE, Henry 24. RECLINING FIGURE
Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
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CALLERY, Mary 6. AMITY (STUDY)
The Miller Company, Meriden, Connecticut
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BRANCUSI, Constantin 3. BIRD AT REST
Miss Katherine S. Dreier, Milford, Connecticut
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GABO, Naum 9. KINETIC STONE
Lent by the artist
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NOGUCHI, Iscmu 26. TO THE SUNFLOWER
Lent by the artist
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