''I Am Beautiful'', also known as ''The Abduction'', is a sculpture of 1882 by the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
artist
Auguste Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
, inspired in a fragment from
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...
's collection of poems ''
Les Fleurs du mal''.
''Gates of Hell''
The sculpture appears in the ''
Gates of Hell'', specifically in the right
pilaster, made from joining ''
Crouching Woman
''Crouching Woman'' is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin.
Versions
Originally modeled in 1880–1882, and enlarged in 1907–1911, it was cast in 1962.
It is in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The Portland Art Museum has a ...
'' and ''
The Falling Man''. This group shows the woman with her back to the audience, in a round-like shape, and the man holding her in a manner reminiscent of the mythological deity
Atlas. In this and several other pieces, Rodin wants to express a morbid and erotic vision in which sexual satisfaction is unreachable.
Exhibition
''I Am Beautiful'' was part of an exhibition at the Georges Petit Gallery in 1886, where it caused commotion due to its audacity: the union of the aforementioned pieces forms a symbolic expression of joy and passion that could not be achieved by its component parts, showcasing both suffering—in a figure that folds unto itself—and an excess of reach in an overextended figure.
See also
*
List of sculptures by Auguste Rodin
References
External links
*
{{Auguste Rodin
Sculptures by Auguste Rodin
Nude sculptures
Les Fleurs du mal in popular culture
Sculptures in the Musée Rodin