Massachusetts Medievalist on Rodin’s Hand of God
This past weekend the Massachusetts Medievalist journeyed across the state to the Clark Art Institute, currently hosting “Rodin in the United States.” I’ve always been a big Rodin fan, but never knew a whole lot about him, his process, and his work. This show combines the comfort food of some well-known old favorites – there are two versions here of The Thinker—with fine informational panels and well-chosen examples of Rodin’s lesser-known works.
I was most struck by the marble version of The Hand of God (Rodin’s original model 1895, carved 1907, now on loan from the Met) and very much appreciated the way the Clark set up the gallery so that it was easy to walk all the way around the sculpture. The whole piece is 29” high; God’s enormous hand implies a gigantic being that we don’t get to see in full. The modelling is striking and precise, with the details of God’s knuckles and muscles and tendons creating the illusion of flesh bursting out from the unfinished marble.
Cradled in the palm of this mammoth being, Adam and Eve embrace. Here, Adam and Eve are deeply, erotically entwined, like the lovers in Rodin’s The Kiss, or Cupid and Psyche, or even Christ and Mary Magdalene (shown below). Adam and Eve are less clearly modelled than the Hand, probably indicating that they are not fully “created” yet. They about to kiss, about to come alive, it seems – their creation will be completed only when their lips connect. For Rodin, humanity comes from shared passion, from physical and emotional attachment. No worry here about ribs and which day of the week it is. In this ostensibly Biblical work, Rodin has denounced and then remade the narrative of Genesis 1.
There’s lots more to think about in this fine show at the Clark, open until 18 September. Get there if you can.