The Cathedral after 1908

Rodin made this bronze sculpture, called The Cathedral, with his hands, in a studio, sometime around 1908. The artist’s touch is so visible here. Look how the hands rise up, meeting each other to create an architectural form—a cathedral. The light catches on the swells of the bronze, the rough surface alive with the energy of Rodin's fingerprints. I imagine him, coaxing the clay, lost in the dance of creation. I’m thinking about how Rodin was deeply engaged with the human form, especially gesture. The way the fingers just barely touch, creating a sense of tension and potential. He had to know exactly how his touch would affect the final form. Think of Rodin as a dancer, moving in concert with his materials, each gesture building upon the last. Sculptors, painters…we’re all in this together, wrestling with form and feeling, trying to make sense of the world one artwork at a time.