t o p i c e r o t i c

Eroticism is a present part of hundreds of works of art extending all the way back to the beginning of art’s history. Should the fact that eroticism is so often a present in works of art surprise or alarm us? Well, because men and women alike were created as sexual beings and art is a way to understand our nature as humans, perhaps not. There is a natural desire in us as humans to fulfill the purpose for which we were made as sexual beings. What might, and probably should, perturb us are some of the ways eroticism is used in particular works of art, or is subtly hidden below the surface of an artwork.

    Auguste Rodin became a master of sculpture over the course of his life, but his works were not always received with appreciation during his lifetime. He often pushed the modern conception of what sculpture should depict and represent. Among some of his most well-known sculptures are The Kiss, and Eternal Spring. Both of these sculptures are of a nude female and male figure embracing each other for a kiss. It is obvious that these are not innocent pieces of art, but it is not explicitly clear how erotic these works should be interpreted to be.

Auguste Rodin, The Kiss, 1901-1904, 

Marble, 72 x 48 x 60 in, Tate Modern Museum,

 Reference No. N06228

   One of Rodin’s most controversial sculptures, The Kiss, is a prime example of the depiction of eroticism in art. Art critic Rowan Relling described this piece as a depiction of the moment when romance turns into eroticism. Furthermore she sees that the more you look at this work the more you will be excluded from what is going on within the work and the space it occupies. Eroticism is about what you aren’t allowed to see, and what you are excluded from participating in. The figure’s closed embrace actually repels the viewer while simultaneously enticing him/her to desire the same experience that the figures are experiencing.

Auguste Rodin, Eternal Spring, 1906-1907,

Marble, 28 x 29 x 18 in, Metropolitan Museum 

Accession Number: 17.120.184

   Rodin’s later sculpture Eternal Spring is very similar to The Kiss but also distinct and different from it in many ways. Most importantly they both have a kiss as the central linking element. Two figures kissing was not a scene depicted in works of art, or an act couples would commit in public during this period. The kiss in both of these sculptures was unsettling especially to art critics of their time, but the public came to love both sculptures. The difference between these two works is how open or closed each is. The pose of the figures in Eternal Spring is very open towards the viewer, though the kiss is still somewhat concealed. It is hard to say whether this open pose or the closed pose seen in The Kiss is more erotically charged.

Auguste Rodin, Eternal Idol, 1890-1893,

Plaster, 29 x  23 x 16 in, Musée Rodin, Paris

   This plaster sculpture titled Eternal Idol, is one of Rodin’s lesser known pieces of work. It is highly erotic as the female figure sits perched above the male figure with her legs splayed open about his hips. Also the male figure is kissing in this sculpture like in The Kiss and Eternal Spring, but the kiss is just as, if not more, erotic because the figure kisses the female’s chest between her breasts as if engaged in foreplay before a sexual act. It has been suggested that Rodin created this piece with his mistress Camille Claudel in mind, expressing his desire for her through his mastery of sculpture.

Camille Claudel, Vertumnus & Pomona, 1905,

 Marble, 36 x 32 x 16 in, Musée Rodin, Paris

   Not long after Rodin sculpts Eternal Idol, Camille Claudel sculpts Vertumnus and Pomona. From its title we can tell it has a connection to the Roman myth of two lovers by the same names. As an art subject this myth provided a disguised erotic subtext in a composition that contrasted youthful female beauty with an aged crone (a man sometimes disguised as an old woman). Claudel creates this piece in response to Eternal Idol reciprocating the erotic desire she has for Rodin. Eroticism is now not only a subject of sculpture but also of two real people’s lives as expressed through their sculptures.

Camille Claudel, The Age of Maturity, 1899,

 Bronze, 47 x 71 x 29 in, Musée Rodin, Paris

   This bronze is The Age of Maturity by Camille Claudel. It is not erotically charged like the rest of the works in this exhibition. It is another example though, of how Claudel and Rodin made sculptures about their relationship to each other. This sculpture represents Rodin’s eventual break up with Camille after his lifelong love Rose forced him to choose either her or Camille. Claudel sculpts it under the theme of destiny, and it is a picture of time leading an old man away from youth. It turns out that Rodin’s life destiny would end up to be a good one beside Rose till his death in 1917.