Since it was Bastille Day today, and therefore a holiday, we had quite short class just in the morning. We visited the Rodin museum, where the famous Thinker sculpture is located. We, of course, saw that, and also looked at the various "studies" for the different figures of his work, The Gates of Hell. By studies, I mean full-sized bronze-cast and marble-sculpted sculptures. Please realize that most of the final figures on the Gates are only about a foot or two tall, so the studies are actually greatly larger than the final pieces. Unusual, right? Well, we aw these pieces and we also saw the work of Rodin's partner, Camille Claudel. I introduce her as Rodin's partner because it is the reason that her sculptures are in the museum and because her work is often mistaken for his because they worked closely, too. This said, she is a wonderful sculptor in her own right.
I think I actually liked some of her marbles better than Rodin's. We read an article about her and Rodin, and she is especially important because she really broke tradition by sculpting as a woman, and also sculpting nudes, both male and female, which was prohibited for women studying art to do. She also does not abide by our conventional gender stereotypes that were particularly dominant around the turn of the (last) century. Instead, she portrays men as vulnerable and passive, and women as both intellectual and sexual beings. Both of these were not acceptable portrayals in art of the time, and so a lot of the opportunities Claudel recieved were because of the support and lobbying of Rodin. The whole relationship between the two was fascinating, and very cool to see their sculpture side by side.
The less fun part about today was the rain. We woke up this morning to thunder and lightning, but the rain held off until just when we got into the museum. Then it let loose and poured, and has since. We briefly went into the garden to see The Gates of Hell after looking at the other studies, and then called it a day. There were supposed to be fireworks by the Eiffel Tower but I seriously doubt they could have happened. My roomies and I had planned on going, and maybe even seeing the parade that usually heads down the Champs-Elysees, but needless to say, our plans were canceled. So we all grabbed a quick lunch and then headed back to the hotel, and then relaxed and chilled out. My roomies watched a movie while I did my required journal for today. Still have to write my final paper and turn it in by August 2. Thankfully, tomorrow looks much better weather-wise, and we will have most of the day and late evening off of class. We meet in the morning and then break until 6 pm tomorrow because of scheduling conflicts with museums. Hmm, should I visit the Musee Jacquemart-Andre, which has a Dali and El Greco show up and is quite large but expensive, or do I return to the Musee d'Orsay for a bit more impressionism? Either way, I have to push myself to do more sketches. After all, if I want to apply for the Disney artist internship program for next summer, I have to have my portfolio ready by March! And how cool would it be to have live sketches from Notre Dame or the Louvre?
Anyways, gotta start organizing and packing the clothing and books tonight. Thankfully I planned ahead (by accident. read the syllabus wrong) and have already done the readings for tomorrow. I'm excited for the Institut du Monde Arabe tomorrow! I'm beginning to really dig Islamic-inspired ornament, especially Moorish Islamic designs. I hear there are some really amazing solar lenses on the front of the building that open and close automatically to let in more or less light. How awesome! I'll tell you how it goes tomorrow. I'll include my own photo of the thinker, although there are probably better ones if you google it. Just thought this posting needed a little color. :)
Bonsoir all!
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