Just a kiss …
The Kiss is an everyday icon. It represents a timeless human act in the manner of the gods and heroes of classical sculpture: nude and, in some versions, marble. At the same time, it’s very modern.
Modern love …
The plinth has gone out of the window. These are not beings to be admired up on a pedestal, but occupying our world. Furthermore, the woman, radically for the 19th century, is an equal partner in desire.
Hell yeah …
This duo, inspired by a real-life adulterous couple depicted in Dante’s Inferno, were intended for Rodin’s Gates of Hell, a bronze doorway depicting the epic poem’s scenes. However, they weren’t tortured enough to make the final cut.
Hands on …
In his pieces, Rodin liked to leave the imprint of fingers massaging wet clay, or the marks of the chisel in stone; his sculpture is inherently sensual.
Body talk …
The visible workings also suggest the marriage of physical and intellectual effort behind art-making. The Kiss is often seen as a companion piece to The Thinker.
Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece, British Museum, WC1, to 29 July
