Naked Came I

Since Michelangelo no sculptor has won the universal admiration that the world accords Auguste Rodin. Yet success did not come to him early: like his contemporaries of the 'Great Generation', from Manet to Cezanne, Rodin saw his work greeted with sneers and ridicule. In this vital and fascinating novel, the sculptor comes vibrantly alive: the self-directed, dedicated artist; the lover of many women; the rebel and the innovator, challenging the polite sensibilities of the age with his realistic nudes; the creator of “The Thinker”, “The Kiss”, “Eternal Spring” and scores of other great sculptures. Equally vivid are the people about him: his family; his fellow artists, notably Degas, Monet and Renoir; the women who loved him, especially the lovely and talented young sculptress, Camille Claudel, who was his student and his mistress and modelled for “The Kiss”, and Rose Beuret, his first model, mother of his son, who remained faithful to the end. Hugo and Zola are here and, in the years of fame, the German poet Rilke, who was his secretary for a time, and George Bernard Shaw, who sat for him.

Published 1964.

Binding of book is intact. Missing dust jacket. Slight signs of wear on cloth covers of book. Spine is aged and creased at top. Tanning and some foxing around edges of book. /no