Michelangelo and Rodin at the Louvre "Living bodies"

Michelangelo and Rodin were both sculptors who pushed the boundaries of their art, although four centuries separated them. The exhibition at the Louvre brings them together in a powerful dialogue. Both wanted to represent the truth of life and emotion even if it meant distorting their figures: 

Rodin's figure of Adam, in bronze, and Michelangelo's Rebel Slave, marble

 Michelangelo's expressive style was later called 'Mannerist', or 'la bella maniera' as it was called at the Renaissance and much imitated. His contorted, straining figure of the Rebel Slave is a permanent fixture in the Louvre, since 1794:

Michelangelo: The Rebel Slave 1513-15 marble  Louvre

Its companion piece in the Louvre is the Dying or Sleeping slave, once destined for the tomb of pope Julius II:

Michelangelo: The Sleeping, or Dying slave, 1513-5

The statues are now back in place in the Denon wing of the Louvre. Both Degas and Cezanne sketched the slaves of Michelangelo in the Louvre. Here is Degas' version of the Sleeping slave:

Edgar Degas: The Sleeping Slave  ca 1855 black pencil on paper, Louvre

Both sculptors caused scandals in their time- Michelangelo with his powerful muscled bodies, which were seen to be insulting in the house of God. As for Rodin, when he showed his "Bronze Age" figure of a man at the Salon in Brussels, then Paris, he was accused of modeling directly from a man's naked body, so realistic was it:

Rodin: L'Āge d'airain (The age of Bronze) 1875-7

It was not true that he modeled it directly on a man's body, but the controversy made him famous. He believed in looking at his subject from all angles.  Michelangelo understood anatomy well, having secretly dissected bodies. Rodin is not known to have followed this practice, although he may have been present at a demonstration. Already an admirer of the Florentine sculptor, he took a trip down to Italy in 1876 to study the old masters and especially Michelangelo Buonarroti.  In a letter to his companion, Rose Beuret, he said he thought he had learnt some of this "great magician's" secrets.

When Rodin finally had a work accepted by the Salon of 1875, it was a bust making reference to Michelangelo, entitled "M.B." The man's head has a broken nose, just as did the Renaissance sculptor since he was punched in the face by an irritated rival Pietro Torrigiano.

Rodin: L'Homme au nez cassé (The Man with the broken nose)
Marble carved by Léon Fourquet in 1875

1875 was the fourth centenary of Michelangelo's birth. His friend Daniele da Volterra had made a bust of the Florentine sculptor for his tomb:

Daniele da Volterra: Bust of Michelangelo ca 1564-6 bronze, Louvre

The care-worn face of Michelangelo perhaps reflected his struggles to keep up with his over-laden work load. Unlike Rodin, Michelangelo preferred to work alone , despite sometimes convening colleagues to help him, whereas Rodin relied on practitioners to help him with the heavy hacking out work, while finishing off his marbles himself.

Both enjoyed sculpting nude bodies, as the perfect expression of the body's passions and emotions. Certain huge figures in Italian churches have not been transported to this exhibition, of course, but they are represented by large plaster copies, for example Michelangelo's "Moses" intended for the tomb of pope Julius II:

Plaster cast by Felice Adriani, 1838, of Michelangelo's "Moses"
in the basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome  Musée des Beaux Arts, Paris

Rodin created a monumental figure in his statue of the great French writer Balzac. Like Moses above, Balzac is modestly draped:

Rodin's Balzac, plaster 1898  Musée Rodin

In Paris there are two bronze Balzacs- on the Boulevard Raspail and in the Rodin Museum garden. This was perhaps Rodin's greatest controversial figure, described mockingly at the time as a 'snowman', a 'toad in a paper bag' or a 'sack of coal'. The figure radiates intelligence, humour, power. 

A portrait by Czech painter Max Svabinsky portrays Rodin as a visionary sitting in the same position as Michelangelo's Moses with his hand holding his beard:

In 1580 contemporary painter Federico Zuccari had made a portrait of Michelangelo in the same position Thus both artists have been portrayed as the prophet Moses!

Federico Zuccari: Portrait of Michelangelo as Moses ca 1593  oil on leather

Traditionally admirers have kept castings of great artists' hands to somehow understand the work of a genius - not unlike relics! Michelangelo's strong hand is generally believed to be an authentic moulding:

16th C terracotta said to be the left hand of Michelangelo ca 1580?,
London, Victoria and Albert Museum

The master is holding something- possibly a lump of clay? Rodin's hand was modelled by a fellow sculptor just before his death. A small female torso was added:

Cast of Auguste Rodin's hand with a female torso 1917 plaster Musée Rodin

There are certain differences between the two artists  In his nude sculptures of women, Michelangelo used manly figures and added breasts to them, while Rodin did no such thing. Both artists did numerous preparatory drawings. The Louvre possesses a quantity of sketches by Michelangelo. He learnt from  Giotto and Masaccio:

Michelangelo Buonarroti: Adam and Eve chased from the garden of Eden,
after Masaccio ca 1504 red chalk, Louvre

Rodin learnt mainly from Michelangelo. They both referred to antique sculptures. Rodin rediscovered a damaged torso he had made for John the Baptist which he produced in bronze to look like an antique work:

Rodin: Torso study for Saint John the Baptist ca 1887 bronze Paris, Petit Palais

 The exhibition points out that their approach to sculpture was essentially different. Michelangelo considered it as 'taking away' matter, whereas Rodin added. Michelangelo would start with his carefully chosen block of Carrara marble, at the quarry, and imagine the figure that would be released from it. 

Rodin always started with a clay model which was then reproduced in bronze or transferred to marble. However we do know that Michelangelo used wax and clay models as a help after making numerous drawings of his subject, so the difference is perhaps not so great. Michelangelo devised a way of placing a wax model in a tub of water and as he let the water out gradually he could see where he was on his marble.

Michelangelo considered painting as an inferior skill to sculpture, but spent about four years painting the Sistine chapel ceiling and then another six painting the wall behind the altar showing the last judgement. The exhibition shows a reduced-size copy of  the Last Judgement by a French painter:

Robert Le Voyer: Copy of Michelangelo's Last Judgement, 1570,
based on Marcello Venusti's copy of 1549, Musée Fabre, Montpellier

The tortuous bodies inspired Rodin for his gates of Hell. Both artists were imbued with Dante's vision of Hell. The exhibition has a clay model of Rodin's third version of his sculptured door. (He went on to alter it completely and died before it was definitely finished):

Rodin: Third model for the Gates of Hell, plaster, foundry model 1991,
Musée Rodin

 The exhibition creates interesting links in the chain of art from ancient to modern works. Rodin experimented with Balzac's clothing to produce a plaster cast of his dressing gown:

Rodin: plaster cast of a dressing gown 1897 Musée Rodin

A rather disturbing (especially to vegetarians) work of art by is shown in comparison:

Jana Sterbak: Vanitas: Flesh dress for an Albino Anorectic 1987  raw meat,
Pompidou Centre, Paris

 A parallel is made between Michelangelo's revelation of the figure inside the block of marble and contemporary sculptor Guiseppe Penone's revelation of a tree inside a wooden beam.

Perhaps it is stretching it a bit to exhibit Joseph Beuys' 'skinned'  piano and compare it with the figure of St Bartholomew holding his own skin, with Michelangelo's tortured face on it, in the "Last Judgement" painting- a little far-fetched perhaps, but at least the exhibition caters for all tastes. After all both Michelangelo and Rodin might be described as conceptual artists!

Joseph Beuys: Homogenous Infiltration for Grand Piano The Skin 1966 1984,
Pompidou Centre, Paris

A vase made by Rodin when he was employed by Carrier-Belleuse has been loaned from the Rodin museum. There is no doubt that Rodin was emulating Michelangelo:

Rodin: Vase of Titans ca 1878-80. Musée Rodin

Twentieth century artist Jean Arp made a sculpture which has echoes of Rodin and his search for expression and movement. Its fluid forms reflect the Surrealist practice of automatic writing:

Jean Arp: Automatic Sculpture (Homage to Rodin) 1938 plaster Pompidou Centre, Paris

Michelangelo Rodin  Corps vivants ( Living bodies)  Exhibition

15th April to 20th July 2026

Louvre

Metro Palais Royal

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