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Walking as Art
Sculpture
Auguste Rene Francois Rodin (1840-1917)
Rodin was one of the original subscribers to Muybridge's book,Animal Locomotion
(1887):
Movement is the transition from one one position to another.
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The Walking Man, ca. 1880 (Bronze 86.5 x 59.6 x 26.7cm)
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Legs hold a torso away from the earth.And a regular high poem of legs is here.
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Powers of bone and cord raise a belly and lungs
Out of ooze and over the loam where eyes look and ears hear
And arms have a chance to hammer and shoot and run motors.
You make us
Proud of our legs, old man.
And you left off the head here,The skull found always crumbling neighbor of the ankles
CARL SANDBURG
Walking Man is actually a reworking of Rodin's Saint John the
Baptist. Rodin was inspired to create such a statue upon first sight of
his model, a 42 year-old Abruzzi peasant by the name of Pignatelli,
in whom he "saw" his St. John and described him as "a man of
nature, a visionary, a believer, a forerunner come to announce one
greater than himself". Rodin wanted to create a statue involved in
the single, intense moment of expression of St. John the Baptist
(patron saint of Florence) preaching; however, it would appear thathe also wanted to communicate the potential for movement as well
as the emotional quality of the sculpture. Rodin's preliminary
drawings reveal that the figure of St. John originally carried a
shepherd's cross that was later eliminated. Apparently, when Rodin
discovered that it would disturb the harmony, movement, and
gesture of the figure, he
altered the drawing.
The statue was made in
pieces (the torso beingthe first to be exhibited
in 1890), then
assembled (in 1900),
and the "model" for
each part of the body
and personality of
Rodin's statue may also
contribute to the
fragmentation of
movement and visual
harmony:
'Take my St. John, for example,' Rodin explained to Paul Gsell, `While he is represented
with both feet on the ground, a snapshot of a model executing the same movement
would probably show the back foot already raised and moving in the direction of the
other one.'
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Walking Man was given to the French Embassy in Rome for the 50th anniversary o
Italian reunification, but was sent back in 1916 by Barr (who called it "o
nly a broken statue"), with the excuse that it impeded traffic! St. John of
the Column is another embodiment - St. John spent more than 30 years, un
til his death, at the top o
And even in those of my works in which action is less pronounced, I have always sought
to give some indication of movement. I have very rarely represented complete repose. I
have always endeavored to express inner feelings by the mobility of muscles.
Rodin
Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966)
Walking Man (Homme qui Marche)1960 (bronze, 190 x 27 x 110 cm),
Krller-Muller Museum, Otterlo
Louisiana, Copenhagen
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Man Walking in the Rain (Homme qui marche sous la pluie)1948 (bronze, 46.5 x 77 x 15 cm). Alberto Giacometti Foundation, Kunsthaus Zurich,
"Alberto Giacometti 1901-1966", book by Tony Stooss and Patrick Elliott
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Man Walking (24 x 31
paper)
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Walking Woman
(Femme qui Marche), 1933 Swiss (Bronze Height: 59 in.) Henry Lee Higginson and
William Frances Warden Funds
Most art critics assumed that those thin. gaunt figures were rising from the ashes of
Europe after the Holocaust, embodiments of existentialism. Giacometti himself often
said they were his homage to the ancient Greek and Egyptian art he saw and sketched atthe Louvre Museum and Muse de l'Homme in Paris. But many critics say it is the very
ambiguity of the images that give them such power.
In the late 1930s his career was interrupted - first by an accident when a car ran over his
foot, then by the outbreak of war. In 1941, in wartime Paris, he made very important
new friendships, with the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. But as
the Occupation tightened its grip, he moved to Switzerland, arriving in Geneva on the
last day of 1941.
In a famous encounter, the head of the surrealist movement, Andre Breton, askedGiacometti whether any artist cared what a human head looked like. Giacometti said, "I
do." Giacometti was tricked into attending what turned out to be a Surrealist tribunal.
Before the proceedings could be fully started, he said, 'Don't bother. I'm going,' and
turned his back and walked out. There was no public excommunication, but his friends
in the movement deserted him.
Establishing yourself, furnishing a house, building up a comfortable existence, and
having that menace hanging over your head all the time - no, I prefer to live in hotels,
cafs, just passing through.
Umberto Boccioni
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Unique Forms in the Continuity of Space
(1913) Bronze (1264 x 890 x 406), Private Collection, Rome
The Italian and Russian Futurists such as Russolo, Boccioni, Larionov and Goncharova,
attempted to represent movement: an approach known as "dynamism".
Universal dynamism must be rendered as dynamic sensation ... motion and light destroy
the substance of objects.
Futurist manifesto
Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas (1834-1917)
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Dancer Looking at the Sole of Her
Right Foot (c.1890/1900), dark green wax and cork, height without base: 45.7 cm,
overall with base: 50.8 x 17.78 x 44.45 cm (National Gallery, Washington DC)
Dancer Moving Forward, Arms Raised
(c.1885/1890), greenish-black wax, metal armature, height without base: 35 cm
(National Gallery of Art, Washington DC)
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Fourth Position Front, on the Left Leg
(c.1885/1890), yellow brown wax and plastilene, height without base: 56.83 cm
(National Gallery of Art, Washington DC)
Dancer Putting on her Stocking, bronze (The Minneapolis
Institute of Arts)
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Young 14 year-old Dancer Bronze statue with diversely coloured patina, with a tulle b
allet skirt, and a satin ribbon in her hair, 0.98 x 0.352 x. 0.245 m, (Paris, Muse
d'Orsay and National Gallery of Art, Washing
During his lifetime, Edgar Degas exhibited only one of his wax sculptures (this one) and
cast three in plaster. Immediately after his death, 72 of his waxes were cast in bronzeeditions of 22 to 25 examples each. Given the scarcity of documentary evidence, the
original dates of execution for nearly all the waxes are simply not known. The original
Little Dancer caused a furor when first exhibited in 1881. Made of tinted wax and
dressed in real clothes, the sculpture outraged many viewers' sense of propriety. One
critic railed: "Wishing to present us with a statuette of a dancer, he has chosen amongst
the most odiously ugly.... Oh, certainly, at the very bottom of the barrel of the dance
school, there are some poor girls who look like this monster.... but what good are they in
terms of statuary? Put them in a museum of zoology, of anthropology, of physiology, all
right: but in a museum of art, really!" This hostility was, however, very much to the
point, as Degas was clearly using the sculpture to question accepted ideas of art. Joris-
Karl Huysmans, a generally more sympathetic critic observed: "The terrible truthfulnessof this statuette is a source of obvious discomfort... all their notions about sculpture,
about that cold, inanimate whiteness, those memorable stereotypes replicated for
centuries, are demolished. The fact is that, on first blow M. Degas has overturned the
conventions of sculpture." With its incorporation of ordinary materials there is a good
argument for making Degas' "first blow" the first modern sculpture.
The Spinario
The first century AD Spinario was first recorded around 1165 in Rome. Believed by
some to be a conscientious shepherd boy, Marcius, stopped to remove a thorn from his
foot after delivering a message to the Roman senate.
Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488)
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Putto Poised on a Globe (1480), unbaked clay, 75x38x23cm (National Gallery of Art,
Washington DC)
The Florentine sculptor and painter is ranked second only to Donatello among the
Italian sculptors of the Renaissance. His bronze of the bandit, Colleoni, was considered
the greatest equestrian statue in the world.
Sukhothai walking Buddha (Thailand)
The walking Buddha is unique to the Sukhothai (1243) style
of sculpture. This asana (posture) is said to symbolize
Buddha's walking down from Tavatisma Heaven after he had
visited his mother. Alternately, it has been interpreted as
Buddha moving foward to offer the world his teachings.
Buddha images are made in one of four asanas - walking,
standing, sitting, reclining - each with a distinctive mudra, orhand position. The posture of walking was once fairly
common during the Sukhothai period in Thailand, but as later
kingdoms emerged, the seated attitude of Calling the Earth to
Witness became more common. The Buddha has a graceful
appearance, as if he was not just walking, but more gliding
on air.
In some, the hand is raised in the gesture of
Warding off Fear / Protection from Evil.
This hand gestures is known as theAbhya
Mudra.. There is an interesting legend about
this hand gesture. Devadatta, a cousin of the
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Buddha, had been jealous of the Buddha. As Devadatta's pride increased, he attempted
to murder the Buddha by releasing a rampaging elephant into the Buddha's path. But as
the elephant approached him, Buddha displayed the Abhaya mudra, which immediately
calmed the animal. Accordingly, it indicates not only the appeasement of the senses, but
also the absence of fear. People who are looking to overcome fear in their own lives, or
overcome jealousy, will therefore often meditate upon an image of the Buddha in theAbhya mudra. In Chinese and Japanese art this hand gesture can be a symbol for
teaching of the Dharma.
Wat Sa Si outside Wat Mahathat, Historic Park of Sukhothai
Robert Graham (b. 1938)
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt in thewheelchairhe
designed, FDR Memorial, Washington DC
Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
Eugne Henri Paul Gauguin was born in Paris on 7 June, 1848, the son of ClovisGauguin, a Republican editor, and his wife Aline Marie Chazal. In 1849, after Louis
Napolon came to power, the family emigrated to Peru. Clovis Gauguin died on the
way. His widow and 2 children (Paul and his elder sister Mari) stayed in Lima with their
rich relatives and did not return to France until 1855. At age 17, he became a sailor in
the French merchant navy, and first learned about the South seas. After the death of his
mother in 1867, he settled down with his wealthy guardian, Gustave Arosa, who had a
large art collection that included works by Delacroix. This period in time shaped
Gauguin's interest in the arts. He started collecting Impressionist paintings, and became
an amateur painter. This lasted until he was 23. At this time Gauguin became very
successful: he was a wealthy stockbroker, married Mette-Sophie Gad, from Denmark,
and had five children. At 34, the stock market crashed and he lost his job. The resultwas poverty. Soon after, the family decided to move to Mette's homeland, Denmark. In
1885 Gauguin came back to Paris - alone. Fifteen years after his separation, he went to
Tahiti and discovered primitive art. He enjoyed it and the surroundings of the South
Pacific because it meant he could paint people and scenery simply and naturally, with
vibrant, contrasting colors. In 1887, Gauguin left France for Panama. For a short time
he worked as a labourer for the Panama Canal Company. He soon left Panama for
Martinique, where he continued his development as an artist. In 1888 he returned to
Brittany. His experience in Martinique broadened his vision and enabled him to develop
original interpretations of scenes in Brittany. In October, 1888 he travelled to Vincent
van Gogh's home in Arles, France. His stay was both traumatic and fruitfull for both
artists. They learned a great deal from each other but were often at odds. Gauguin
returned to Paris in December after Van Gogh's "ear incident."This proved to be a
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turbulent arrangement. Thus Gauguin moved again, to Brittany, where he painted the
walls and ceiling of an inn, and sculpted in wood and marble.
Pair of Wooden Shoes (Sabots), 1889/1890, polychromed oak,
leather, and iron nails, 12.8 x 32.7 x 11.2 cm (NGA, Wash. DC)
I love Brittany: there I find the wild and the primitive. When my wooden shoes ring on
this stony soil, I hear the muffled, dull, and mighty tone I am looking for in my painting.
In 1895, Gauguin went back to Tahiti. 27 months later, he returned to France. Gauguin
did not find any refuge in France, though. First, he broke his ankle in a fight about a
mulatto girl with whom he was living.
In passing through Gestel the other day with a comrade, sitting on a
bench
near the church we found two remarkable figures, a young man
raggdly
clothed, with a strange reckless face, and an old man bent over and
leaningon a heavy stick.
The latter was largely built, his legs half naked, and of a dark metalic,
salmon
colour; and his feet thrust into the straw of his enormous sabots, one
ankle
swollen and wounded, it was this infirmity that prevented him from
working
he sat motionless beside his insouciant and listless companion. With
a
heavy grey mat of hair, he was dark-skin'd and look'd like somebedouin; the
flesh was pucker'd round his eyes into innumerable deep wrinkles, as
though some torrid sun were constantly in his eyes: and gazing into
Space,
he seem'd to find in the nothingness always before him and blank of
his
reverie, the same occupation as those old sailors find, sitting for hours
on
the benches of the quays, and gazing at the empty sea. He look'd at us
steadily when we spoke to him, and answer'd our questions slowly. My
companion ask'd him if he would be painted; he made no difficulty.
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When
ask'd where was his home, where he was habitually to be found, he
replied
simply, with that deep and tragic voice that had this accent
naturally, as a
voice heard in a ruin'd and deserted dwelling, because of the solitudeand
bareness of his life, "On the stones" ("sur les pierres",): it was there
that
he sat the greater part of the day, on the cobbles, to receive alms.
Percy Wyndham Lewis
Then an auction sale of his works failed in 1895, and he decided to go back to Tahiti,
and then to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas. This period was captured in his book of
memoires,Noa Noa.
Gauguin suffered a chronic sore on his left ankle, which had refused to heal for more
than two years. This was during his self imposed exile in Tahiti, and he thought the poor
healing was due to the tropical climate. In his last years Gauguin's mobility was
severely restricted, and he endured considerable pain, on account of his ankle. He
became blind and unable to walk. It was later discovered that it was a complication of
his syphilis, which eventually led to his death in 1903 on Hiva Oa Island in the
Marquesas. In March of 1903 he was fined and imprisoned, and two months later was
found dead. Gauguin's native neighbor Tioka, called to see him, announcing his arrival
by shouting 'Koke, Koke" from the bottom of the staircase. To his surprise he received
no answer. After a short hesitation he climbed the stairs and discovered Gauguin lying
an his bed with one leg hanging over the side. Not sure that his friend was really dead,
Tioka resorted to a traditional method and bit his head. Gauguin remained silent and
motionless. In a shrill voice Tioka intoned an ancient Marquesan death lament.When
filling in the death certificate, the priest added, "He was married and a father, but the
name of his wife is unknown."
His work, which was influenced greatly by the native symbolism of Tahiti, included a
wood carving of Christ on the Cross (Stela of Christ). The left foot of Christ is given
greater prominence than any other part of the carving, thus referring to the source of
Gauguin's physical suffering, his infected ankle. This piece therefore, has
autobiographical significance.
Do not paint too much after nature. Art is an abstraction; derive this abstraction from
nature while dreaming before it, and think more of the creation which will result than of
nature.
- letter to Emile
Shuffenecker, 1888
Leone (1509-1590) & Pompeo Leoni (1533-1608)
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The Emperor Charles V Subduing Rage/Violence, Bronze (251 cms. in height), Prado
This bronze is one of the most beautiful pieces of Renaissance Statuary. The two figures
rise up over a plinth, around the circumference of which is the inscription "Caesaris
virtute domitus furor" (Rage dominated by Caesar's valour). On the same plynth, to the
left, there is another inscripition referring to the piece`s creators. In Latin it reads
"Leone, the father, and Pompeo, the son, natives of Arezzo, made this 1564". It is
probable that it was actually Leone who made it and that his son only helped in its
firing. Celebrated in this sculptural group is a victory of the imperial troops; some argue
that it refers to the conquest of Tunis, others that it is the Battle of Mhlberg against the
Protestants. In the figure of the emperor the clothing is removable, revealing a nude
worked in the fashion of the old deified Roman emperors. In his right hand he carries a
lance that has felled the body of his vanquished foe, while in his left he has a sword, the
hilt of which is shaped like an eagle's head.
Shackles and chains around