
Auguste Rodin
Esther Robles Gallery
Rodin’s complete absorption with the concept of movement is vividly displayed in a small collection of watercolors at the Esther Robles Gallery. They are some of the artist’s last works, no more than ten or so in number. Yet they are some of his most exciting drawings available. Leaping figures are caught at the peak of action. The feeling of balance is only momentary. Nothing comes to rest. The literary romanticism that clouded most of Rodin’s imagery seems to have faded. The nude figure has become his vehicle for the communication of motion in a formal sense. Executed with an amazing economy of means, the large free washes, supported by a minimum of line, display the clarity of a master.
