jour no. 14 - musee d'orsay, parte deux

My favorite part of d'Orsay (other than the giant clocks) was a temporary exhibit called "Oublier Rodin?"



It is one of those great exhibits that (a) teaches you a lot; (b) has a bunch of interesting and gorgeous artworks; and (c) isn't overwhelming. It covers sculpture in Paris from 1905 to 1914, and takes you through various artists' evolution, and how it all related to Rodin and his immense influence, which apparently was quite stifling (as a quote in the exhibit put it, "Pour la plupart des jeunes artistes qui cherchaient leur développement et leur identité, le problème, c'était Rodin").



This is the exhibit that introduced me to Wilhelm Lehmbruck, who I need to read up on (the first and last photos here are details of his works). From what I gather, he studied with Rodin, and his early works were very Rodinesque, but then he broke with the master and made pieces that were less knotty and massive, and more streamlined, elegant - quieter, really, but very powerful (to me). He died young, at age 37 or 38; I believe he killed himself, but I'm not sure. The exhibit also had a bunch of his drawings and paintings, which I was drawn to over and over again.

Before I realized it was against the rules of this particular exhibit, I took these pictures of some of the compelling faces.