Style: July 06, 2017

STYLE | arts 41
The Kiss – Auguste Rodin
The Bath of Psyche – Lord Frederic Leighton
Drawing, painting and
sculpting the human body has
always been central to artists’
practice, which makes this
exhibition so interesting.
the private space of the artist and his
subject, and are encouraged to consider
the body more intimately and perhaps
voyeuristically.
Pierre Bonnard paints his wife taking a
bath and Pablo Picasso depicts his lover
Marie Thérèse nude in an armchair, while
Henri Matisse in Draped Nude places his
subject in an exotic Moroccan setting.
The signature work of this exhibition is
Auguste Rodin’s The Kiss, the enormous
marble sculpture of two entwined lovers
caught in a moment of passion working
on many levels. Its sheer size is quite
sublime, with the poses of the beautiful
couple simultaneously showcasing strength,
beauty, passion, and vulnerability. The
male, Paolo, is muscular with large feet
and hands which hold the delicate almost
childlike figure of Francesca in a loving
embrace. In doing this, the piece is able to
capture and create from stone a moment
that is fluid, graceful, and tender, a material
so synonymous with being hard, cold, and
impassive.
The exhibition continues with equally
profound pieces that appeal viscerally to
the viewer, while the artists reveal their
souls through their work. This section of
the exhibition is more challenging both
visually and intellectually but time taken
studying the work is rewarding.
The work of artists such as Louise
Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, Sir Stanley
Spencer, Willem de Kooning and others
make us aware of the fragility and
complexity of life and love. We are asked
to leave behind our stereotypical ideas of
not only what should constitute a work of
art, but also our social constructs of truth
and beauty.
Through the use of sculpture, abstract
painting, and photography, the artists
turn our accepted notions upside down
and make us think about ourselves and
our own reality, our own bodies and our
perceptions of them.
OOh,
AAh,
WOW!
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