The French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), widely regarded as the founder of modern sculpture, was hugely influential well into the 20th century. The Glyptotek owns an unrivalled collection of sculptures by Rodin. The special exhibition, Auguste Rodin places parts of this collection in a new context, shedding light on Rodin’s working methods.

The special exhibition includes not only sculptures and drawings by Rodin, but also artefacts from his private antique collection. The exhibition presents both a selection of works from the Glyptotek’s own Rodin collection and items loaned from the Musée Rodin in Paris. The set designers Anja Kragh Vang and Mia Steensgaard have created a sensuous setting, in which all the works will be displayed. It will reflect Rodin’s own theatrical way of exhibiting works, while interacting with the architecture of the museum’s historic rooms.

Rodin and antiquity Intense and dramatic, and the powerful expression of Rodin’s sculptures invests them with psychological depth. But they also testify to great technical innovation in the art of sculpture. Rodin was far more fascinated by the very act of creating a sculpture than with a finished work. He was constantly dismantling his sculptures, and changing and staging them in new ways. His experiments paved the way for a completely new approach to sculpture.

In this process of innovation, the art of antiquity played a crucial role. Rodin drew inspiration from his own private antique collection. It became a kind of laboratory for him. Auguste Rodin features items from this collection. The juxtaposition of Rodin’s works with the antique artefacts will create new insights into Rodin’s experiments and radical working methods as an artist.

Auguste Rodin and Carl Jacobsen Rodin’s works appealed to Carl Jacobsen (1842-1914), the famous brewer who founded the Glyptotek. For almost 15 years, the two of them wrote to one another about the particular works the brewer wished to acquire. For example, Jacobsen wrote to the artist about “the small Rodin museum” he had established in the Glyptotek. As a result of this relationship, the museum possesses a unique Rodin collection, featuring a total of 34 sculptures, commissioned directly from the artist himself between 1900 and 1914. They include such famous and monumental works as The Thinker and The Burghers of Calais – in this exhibition, presented in new contexts.

The exhibition is a collaboration with the Musée Rodin in Paris and has received generous support from Augustinus Fonden and Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond.