Rodin on Art - (English-Chinese Bilingual Reader)

Author: Luo Dan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: The thoughts and works of Auguste Rodin share a highly consistent theme: melancholy, distress, sadness, and their struggle against fate. "As for me, the true seeker, the one who gazes into the depths of life, I remain vigilant. I grasp the living movement, rather than forcing it into existence." He is a "true thinker," filled with the spirit of romanticism and idealism. He believed that a work is not just a collection of materials; it must possess "thought and life." He said: A pure masterpiece is such that, whether in form, line, or color, nothing can be found—everything melts into thought and soul. His thoughts reach a height that ordinary people find difficult to attain. His reflections concern the present and future of all humankind.
Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) was a distinguished French sculptor, hailed as the "third peak in the history of European sculpture after Phidias and Michelangelo." On Art was completed in his later years, reflecting his lifelong artistic views and aesthetic philosophy. It is regarded as a "landmark work that has had a profound influence on modern Western art." Shao Dazheng, in Ten Lectures on Western Modern Sculpture, describes Rodin as an artist who thinks deeply about life and art. Anyone who has read On Art knows this well.
This book is considered both a "scientific summary of the history of European sculpture" and a "refinement of personal experience." It includes Rodin's reverence for his predecessors, his brilliant critiques of masterpieces, and his self-revelation and introspection. When Fu Lei taught at the Shanghai Art College, he translated this book as a "textbook on aesthetics" for his students.
The book was dictated by Rodin and recorded by Georges Gassier. It is regarded as an "outstanding textbook on art," "a work of extraordinary value," "a source of inspiration for many creators," and even the "martial arts manual of the art world." It is divided into eleven chapters, covering topics such as the realism of art, the beauty of everything in nature from an artistic perspective, the ambiguity of art, movement in art, the beauty of women, and the thought behind art.