1840-1917, most important sculptor of the transition period from the 19th to the 20th century.

François-Auguste is considered brilliant innovator of sculpture and is one of the greatest sculptors of all time besides Praxiteles, Canova, Michelangelo and Cellini. His sculptural work is so extensive that to this day still appeared no complete catalogue of his works. He would certainly include several hundred pages.

Rodin studied at the school for applied arts, as he was rejected three times at the Paris School of art. Rodin was an ardent admirer of beauty. The human body captivated him, which he immortalized repeatedly in his "Vérité Fugitive" in the fleeting moment of the moment: lively, vibrant beauty that took shape under his creative hands. Whatever Rodin created with his hands, radiates immense vitality and untamed power.

His sculptures with often fractured surfaces ushered in a new era of sculpture. The genius of Rodin's modern design language, which was expressed with elements of impressionism, left the monument-like pose of academic style and mental constitutions could be alive in the moving surfaces, had to be recognized :"Boldness of light – modesty of the shadow" - Rodin wrote this dialogue of increases and cuts in the 'skin' of his sculptures. Flickering highlights and mysterious shadows animate his characters and make them alive: "Sculpture is the art to represent the forms in the play of light and shadow."

Collective term for the painters and sculptors of the 20th century, such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall and others, whose works are the most recognized in our times.

A plastic work of sculptural art made of wood, stone, ivory, bronze or other metals.

While sculptures from wood, ivory or stone are made directly from the block of material, for bronze casting a working model is prepared at first. Usually it is made of clay or other easily shaped materials.

The prime time of sculpture after the Roman antiquity was the Renaissance. Impressionism gave a new impulse to the sculptural arts. Also the contemporary artists, such as Jorg Immendorf, Andora, and Markus Lupertz enriched the sculpture with outstanding works.

The style of Impressionism that emerged in French painting in 1870 owes its name to the Claude Monet's landscape 'Impression, Soleil Levant'. After initial refusal it began a true triumphant advance.

Such painters as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir and others created motifs from everyday life, urban and landscape scenes in a bright, natural light.

Impressionism can be seen as a reaction to the academic painting. The emphasis was not on content with its strict rules of painting structure, but on the object as it appears at any given moment, in an often random cut out. The reality was seen in its whole color variety in natural lighting. The studio painting was replaced by the open-air painting.

The brightening of the palette and the dissolution of firm contours was accompanied by a new way of handling with color. Often, the colors were no longer mixed on the palette but side by side on the canvas so that the final impression lies in the eye of the beholder with a certain distance. In "Pointillism", (with such painters as Georges Seurat or Paul Signac) this principle was carried to the extreme.

Outside France, Impressionism was taken up by such painters as Max Slevogt, Max Liebermann and Lovis Corinth in Germany, and by James A. M. Whistler in the United States.

In sculpture, the impressionism expressed itself only conditionally. In the works of Auguste Rodin, who is considered one of the main representatives, you can see a resolution of the surfaces in which the play of light and shadow is included in the artistic expression. Degas and Renoir created sculptures as well.

An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times.

Bronze casting:

When casting bronze, artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. It's the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.

Sculpture "The Book Reader" by Ernst Barlachs is shown here as an example:

First, the artist forms a model of his sculpture. It is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber composition. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out. The liquid wax is poured in the negative mould. After cooling down, the wax casting is removed from the mould, provided with sprues and dipped into ceramic mass. The ceramic mass is hardened in a kiln, and the wax flows out (lost mould).

Now we finally have the negative form, into which the 1400 ° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken off and the sculpture comes to light.

Now the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist himself or, to his specifications, by a specialist. Thus, each casting becomes an original work