CityView Magazine

40 | January/February 2015 progenitor of modern sculpture. e artist was born in 1840 to a working class fam- ily in Paris, France. He would later study art at Petite École. In 1877, Rodin caught the art world's attention with his sculpture "e Age of Bronze," which depict- ed a life-sized nude male body so realistic that it had generated controversy, as many believed the sculpture would have been impossible to create without casting a living model. e controversy only helped Rodin's work receive more attention, as art lovers flocked to see the sculpture for themselves. roughout his life Rodin created countless works of art, demonstrating an almost obsessive attention to detail and understanding of the human anatomy. Among Rodin's most famous pieces are "e Walking Man," "e Burghers of Calais," "e Gates of Hell" and perhaps his most well known sculpture, "e inker." ough Rodin knew his way around a paint brush, he was most known for working with clay and bronze. "Just the fact that he was able to work with a mate- rial that was difficult to work with, his ability to cap- ture life. He captured things that look living," said Foti. "at was the magnificent part. When you think of contemporary sculptures, the way he captured the life of his forms and his figures, that was a true inspiration." Foti believes Rodin's influence is still evident today. She expects the exhibit to attract not only a lot of local interest, but interest from across the state. "We are presently working on getting the word out," Foti said. "We have been working on getting invita- tions designed, billboards designed, cards, all of those kinds of things that go out into the public locally and outside our area. About 3,000 invitations will go out." e opening night of the exhibit will feature a per- formance by violinist Emi Hildebrandt, as well as ca- tered food. Attendees will also get to hear Judith Sobol, executive director for the Cantor Foundation, speak. Founded in 1978 by Iris Cantor and her hus- band B. Gerald Cantor, the foundation's mission is to offer cultural philanthropy and help fund medi- cal research and health care. According to the their website, the purpose of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is "to support the body and the soul." "e foundation's collection of Rodin art, com- bined with the private collection of the foundation's founders, was at one time the largest collection in the world," said Sobol. "ey have made gis to mu- seums all over the world, besides providing traveling exhibitions." is particular exhibition focuses on Rodin's por- trait work, which had contributed to much of his early popularity. Sobol believes his portraits were unique in that they always le the viewer with a sense of mystery. "I think Rodin made very sure that his sculpture did The Burghers of Calais The Gates of Hell

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