3 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
DANCE MOVEMENT 'D' CAST AFTER 1952
On page 536 of the Musee Rodin's published 2007 Bronzes of Auguste Rodin
by its' former curator Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, it states a
"foundry model" was used between 1952 and 1956, by the Alexis Rudier and
Georges Rudier foundries, for casting thirteen (No. 0-12) "Dance
Movement 'D' in bronze. The Musee Rodin has "No. 0" in their collection
and the "No.1" is listed as "probably" in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Foundation's collection.[FN 22]
FOUNDATION FOCUSES ON THE ART OF AUGUSTE RODIN?
The
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's -Mission Statement- states it
is: "a private operating foundation established in 1978 to promote and
encourage recognition and appreciation of excellence in the arts and
medical research, through the support of exhibitions, art scholarships,
medical research centers and hospitals, and through the endowment of
galleries at major museums around the world. The main thrust of the
Cantor Foundation's support focuses on the art of Auguste Rodin and
women's health issues. The Foundation's efforts are concentrated
primarily in California and New York."[FN 23]
Yet,
aside Auguste Rodin was some 35 years or more dead in 1952 to 1956 when
this non-disclosed posthumous forgery "Dance Movement 'D'" was "Signed
and numbered A. Rodin/No.1," the main thrust of the Cantor Foundation's
-Mission- seems to be to perpetuated misconceptions and
misrepresentation of their second-generation-removed forgeries as the
"art of Auguste Rodin."
"The
Benedictions, 1894, Musee Rodin cast in 1955, Bronze, Georges Rudier,
35 1/2 x 24 x 19 in. (90.2 x 61 x 48.3 cm), Signed A. Rodin and
inscribed Georges Rudier Fondeur Paris and © by Musee Rodin 1955, Iris
and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1386" (p 183, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Gallery/rvg81.html
4 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
$150,000 VALUE FOR A POSTHUMOUS FORGERY?
Aside Auguste Rodin was some 38 years
dead in 1955 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery "The
Benedictions'" was "Signed A. Rodin," the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Foundation's "Checklist," for their 1998 Rodin: Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Collection exhibition at the Nevada Museum of Art, lists this same "The Benedictions" as having an "Insurance value: $150,000."[FN 24]
AAMD ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR REPRODUCTIONS
The
Nevada Museum of Art is a member of the Association of Art Museum
Directors. As an AAMD member, the museum endorses the ethical guidelines
on reproductions in their 2001 Professional Practices in Art Museum publication.
In part, it states: "museums must clearly indicate, through the use of
integral markings on the objects, as well as signs, labels, and
advertising, that these items are reproductions - signatures, editions
numbers, and/or foundry marks on sculpture must not appear on the
reproduction. - The touting of exaggerated investment value of
reproductions must be avoided because the object or work being offered
for purchase is not original and the resale value is highly in doubt. -
When advertising reproductions, museums should not use language implying
that there is any identity of quality between the copy and the original
or lead the potential buyer to believe that by purchasing any such
reproduction, he or she is acquiring an original work of art." [FN 25]
Therefore,
under these ethical guidelines, AAMD members, such as the Nevada Museum
of Art, could not even display, much less sell the Iris and B. Gerald
Cantor Foundation's "The Benedictions" in their gift shop because of the
posthumous application of a counterfeit "A. Rodin" signatures and/or
edition numbers and foundry marks.
"The
Night (Single Figure), After 1898, Musee Rodin cast 5/12 in 1973,
Bronze, Georges Rudier, 10 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 6 7/8 in. (26 x 14 x 17.5 cm),
Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 5 and inscribed Georges Rudier Fondeur
Paris and © by musee Rodin 1973 with raised signature A. Rodin inside,
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 567" (p 185, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 561, 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain
5 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
THIRTEEN IN AN EDITION OF TWELVE
On page 561 of the 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin
by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, the author wrote the "Standing Female
Nude Combing her Hair" a.k.a. "The Night" has thirteen total cast in
bronze: "twelve casts, in addition to the no. 0 for the museum [Musee
Rodin]."
Therefore, aside Auguste Rodin was some 56 years dead
in 1973 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery "The Night (Single
Figure)" was "Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 5," are we to believe or
suspend disbelief when the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation states:
"In 1956 French law limited production to twelve casts of each model. A
system of numbering was established by French legislation in 1968
whereby the first eight of the twelve casts, numbered 1/8-8/8, have been
available for the public to purchase; the last four, numbered
I/IV-IV/IV, have been reserved for cultural institutions. This law was
reestablished and strictly imposed in 1981."[FN 26]
"Venus,
c. 1888, Musee Rodin cast 9 in 1978, Bronze, Godard, 40 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 11
1/2 in. (102.9 x 19.1 x 29.2 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 9
and inscribed E GODARD Fondr and © by BY MUSEE RODIN 1978, Iris and B.
Gerald Cantor Foundation 1599" (p 184, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: http://museum.oglethorpe.edu/rodin/gallery.asp?img=venus.jpg
6 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
Aside Auguste Rodin was some 61 years
dead in 1978 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery titled: "Venus"
was "Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 9," in all probability the correct
title is "Aphrodite" as found on page 134-35 in the Musee Rodin's
published 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin catalogue[FN 27] by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain and additionally as documented on page 517 of 2003 Rodin's Art, The Rodin Collection, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University catalogue[FN 28] by Albert Elsen, Rosalyn Frankel Jamison and edited by Bernard Barryte.
DEFINITION OF SIGNED
On page 1386 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary,
-signed- is defined as: "To identify (a record) by means of a
signature, mark, or other symbol with the intent to authenticate it as
an act or agreement of the person identifying it."[FN 29]
POSTHUMOUS FORGERY NOT SIGNED BY RODIN
So,
whether you call it "Venus" or "Aphrodite," this non-disclosed
posthumous forgery was not, by definition "Signed [much less numbered]
by Auguste Rodin."
The dead don't sign.
"Torso
of the Walking Man, c. 1878-79, Musee Rodin cast 10/12 in., 1979,
Bronze Coubertin, 20 1/2 x 10 3/4 x 8 in. (52.1 x 27.3 x 20.3 cm),
Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 10 and inscribed © by Musee Rodin 1979,
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1516" (p 186, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 421, 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain
7 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
On page 421 of the Musee Rodin's published 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin[FN 30] by
Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, the author wrote: "first cast, probably
exh. 1889" and "twelve casts by Fonderie de Coubertin," not including
the cast "no. 0" for the Musee Rodin collections, totaling seemingly at
least fourteen.
Therefore, aside Auguste Rodin was
some 62 years dead in 1979 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery
"Torso of the Walking Man" was "Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 10,"
the limitation to an edition of twelve is, at best, wishful thinking.
"Idyll
of Ixelles, 1885, Musee Rodin, cast 4/8 in 1981, Bronze, Coubertin, 21 x
14 5/8 x 14 5/8 in. (53.3 x 37.1 x 37.1 cm), Signed and numbered A.
Rodin No. 4 with Coubertin foundry mark and inscribed © by Musee Rodin
1981, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1682 (plate 13)"
Photo: p 24, Plate 13 and p 183, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue
8 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
FRENCH LAW AND THE NOTATION -REPRODUCTION-
The March 3, 1981 French decree no.
81.255, Article 9, in part, states: “All facsimiles, casts of casts,
copies, or other reproductions of an original work of art as set out in
Article 71 of Appendix III of the General Code of Taxes, executed after
the date of effectiveness of the present decree, must carry in a visible
and indelible manner the notation ‘Reproduction’.”[FN 31]
Remember,
the Musee Rodin admits they do -not- send Auguste Rodin's original
lifetime plasters, but posthumous plaster reproductions, to foundries
for casting in bronze.
ALL ORIGINAL - SOME WERE MADE DURING HIS LIFETIME?
Yet,
despite that irrefutable fact, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
would have the news media, much less the public, believe their widely
distributed "Summary: Authorized Posthumous Casting of the Work of
Auguste Rodin" paper that states: "all works in the Iris and B. Gerald
Collection and Cantor Foundation are original Rodins. Some of these were
made during Rodin's lifetime, others were made after he died and
according to his explicit wishes and instructions to the government of
France."[FN 32]
DEFINITION OF ORIGINAL
On page 286 of HarperCollins' published 1991 Dictionary of Art Terms & Techniques by Ralph Mayer, -original- is defined as: "an artist's independent creation."[FN 33]
Does
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's "some of these were made during
Rodin's lifetime" statement, give any confidence whatsoever that they
understand what constitutes an original, much less a forgery?
"The
Night (Double Figure), After 1898, Musee Rodin cast I/IV in 1983,
Bronze, Godard, 10 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 6 7/8 in. (26 x 14 x 17.5 cm), Signed
and numbered A. Rodin No. I/IV and inscribed E. Godard Fond and © by
MUSEE Rodin 1983, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1340" (p 185, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 561, 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain
9 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
On page 561 of the Musee Rodin's published 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin[FN 34] by
Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, the author wrote the Musee Rodin's
"Night, Two-Figure Assemblage" is "No. 0" with "twelve cast by E. Godard
from 1980: 1 and 2/8" and "I/IV, © 1983, Los Angeles Cantor
Foundation."
With so-called edition in eight in Arabic, four in Roman numerals and the Musee Rodin's numbered zero that totals thirteen.
Remember, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's statement on their website: "
In 1956 French law limited production to twelve casts of each model. A
system of numbering was established by French legislation in 1968
whereby the first eight of the twelve casts, numbered 1/8-8/8, have been
available for the public to purchase; the last four, numbered
I/IV-IV/IV, have been reserved for cultural institutions. This law was
reestablished and strictly imposed in 1981."[FN 35]
CANTOR FOUNDATION IS NOT A CULTURAL INSTITUTION
Aside
this 1983 Musee Rodin cast is not limited to twelve unless of course
you consider thirteen a baker's dozen and the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Foundation is not a cultural institution, so how did a so-called
non-profit foundation end up with a Musee Rodin's -I/IV- cast that is
supposedly "reserved for cultural institutions?"
"Sorrow,
1889, Musee Rodin cast 1/8 in 1983, Bronze, Coubertin, 11 1/2 x 6 1/2 x
6 3/4 in. (29.2 x 16.5 x 17.1 cm), Signed A. Rodin and inscribed © by
Musee Rodin 1983 No. 1/8 and La Porte de l'enfer 1977 -81 don DE.B.
Gerald Cantor, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection, promised gift to
the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1324" (p 178, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: http://ncartmuseum.org/images/ncma/collection/rodin500/sorrow_2009_1_16_view_a.jpg
10 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
POSTHUMOUS PLASTER REPRODUCTIONS, THE MISSING STEP
In the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's
"Ten Step Lost Wax Casting Process of Auguste Rodin's Sorrow" display,
it leaves out one important step the Musee Rodin makes by sending
posthumous plaster reproductions of the [Step 1.] "artist creates a
sculpted model, generally made of plaster, clay, marble, stone, or
wood."[FN 36] Therefore, [Step 2.] should be
the third step where "The surface of the [posthumous plaster] model is
coated with a protective substance."[FN 37]
Remember the Musee Rodin sends
posthumous plaster reproductions, not Auguste Rodin's original lifetime
plasters, to the foundries for casting in bronze because it "preserves the old plasters which are obviously more valuable since they were made during the lifetime of Rodin."[FN 38]
As
a result, the 2nd-generation-removed bronzes from these posthumous
plaster reproductions, by definition, would -not- be reproductions of
anything Auguste Rodin created.
Additionally, in Step 9, the
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's "Ten Step Casting Process" is not
only contradicted by the Musee Rodin's use of posthumous plaster
reproductions for casting in bronze but actually contradicts itself when
it states: "The bronze sculpture and its sprues and gates are an exact reproduction of the wax."[FN 39]
A posthumously cast bronze can -never
be a sculpture, much less a reproduction if that bronze is actually cast
from a posthumous plaster reproduction.
Yet, the Iris and B.
Gerald Cantor Foundation continues to use sculpture as an euphemism for
2nd-generation-removed forgeries, much less reproductions.
"Illusions
Received by the Earth (The Fallen Angel), 1895, Musee Rodin, cast 1/8
in 1983, Coubertin, 15 1/2 x 27 x 15 1/2 in. (39.4 x 68.6 x 39.4 cm),
Signed and numbered A. Rodin/1/8 and inscribed © by Musee Rodin 1983,
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection, promised gift to the Iris and B.
Gerald Cantor Foundation 1341" (p 184, Rodin, A Magnificent Obsession)
Photo: p 529, 2003 Rodin's Art, The Rodin Collection Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University by Albert E. Elsen, Rosalyn Frankel Jamison and edited by Bernard Barryte
11 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
The Laguna College of Art & Design, located at 2222 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California 92651-1136, must operate under the laws and statutes of the State of California and the United States of America.
DEFINITION OF DERIVATIVE
Under
U.S. Copyright Law, § 101. Definitions, a -derivative work- is defined
as: "a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as - art
reproduction."[FN 40]
Aside the Musee Rodin admission they don't
reproduce in bronze from Auguste Rodin original lifetime plasters,
anything posthumously cast, even from a posthumous plaster reproduction,
would be, at best, a "derivative work" ie., reproduction.
ATTRIBUTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY REPRODUCTION
Under U.S. Copyright law § 106A.
the "Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity - shall not
apply to any reproduction."[FN 41]
CALIFORNIA LAW REQUIRES DISCLOSURE OF REPRODUCTIONS California
Civil Code 17.38 to 17.45 requires certain disclosure of reproductions
if sold for $100 or more. Specifically, California Civil Code 1741
states: “This title shall apply to any fine art multiple when offered
for sale or sold at wholesale or retail for one hundred dollars ($100)
or more, exclusive of any frame.” Additionally, California Civil Code
1742 (b) states: “This law requires disclosure - whether the multiple is
a reproduction.”[FN 42]
Now, granted the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is not selling these non-disclosed forgeries in this Rodin Figures
exhibition, though the Laguna College of Art & Design is soliciting
$500 to $25,000 "Sponsorship Opportunities [as] tax deductible gifts."
So,
would Laguna College of Art & Design and Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Foundation argue the letter, much less the spirit, of California Civil
Code does not apply to them?
"Tragic
Muse, 1894-96, Musee Rodin cast 5/8 in 1986, Bronze, Godard, 13 x 25 1/2
x 15 1/4 in., (33 x 64.8 x 38.7 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No.
5/8 and inscribed E. Godard Fondr and © BY MUSEE Rodin 1986, Iris and B.
Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1504 (plate 59)"
Photo: p 76, Plate 59 and p 181, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue
12 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
In 1996, the Musee Rodin allowed the
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation and/or its' representative to pick
the color of Auguste Rodin’s “Monument to Victor Hugo” being
posthumously forged in bronze.
CANTOR FOUNDATION PICKED THE COLOR
This is confirmed in the Fall 1998 Sculpture Review
trade magazine published “Casting of the Monument” article by the
Coubertin founders Frederic Colombier and Jean Dubo. On page 34 of this
article, the founders wrote: “After presentation of samples, the Musee
Rodin and the Cantor Foundation approved the color to be achieved.”[FN
43]
This is additionally confirmed in Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation’s published 1998 Rodin’s Monument to Victor Hugo
catalogue. On page 10 of the “Forward,” the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Foundation Executive Director Rachael Blackburn states: “Ruth Butler,
professor emerita at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, who
wrote the introduction to this catalogue, offered her insightful
guidance and worked closely with Mrs. Cantor, the Musee Rodin, and the
foundry to determine the delicate nuances of the monument’s patina.”[FN
44]
In September 21, 1999 telephone
conversation with the Musee Rodin Board of Directors member Ruth Butler,
she informed this scholar that Iris Cantor had asked her to observe the
casting and patina of Auguste Rodin’s “Monument to Victor Hugo” bronze
that the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation was purchasing from the
Musee Rodin. When asked whether there was any historical research that
would document what Auguste Rodin might had selected as the patina for
this bronze, Ruth Butler answered: “it would be up to the foundry.”[FN
45]
When Ruth Butler was asked, in that
same telephone conversation, whether the Coubertin foundry, which went
into business in 1963 some forty-six years after Auguste Rodin’s death,
had asked for her approval of the patina, she answered: “Well.”
So,
in 1999, when either Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's Ruth Butler
and/or the Coubertin foundry picked the color of this non-disclosed
posthumous forgery, are we to suspend disbelief or just believe anything
was "cast the same way they were while Rodin was alive?"
"Ecclesiastes,
Before 1899, Musee Rodin cast II/IV in 1995, Bronze, Godard, 10 1/2 x
10 1/4 x 11 3/4 in., (26.7 x 26 x 29.8 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin
No. II/IV and inscribed E. GODARD Fondr and © BY MUSEE Rodin 1995, Iris
and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1683" (p 185, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 140 1998 Rodin a Quebec
13 OF 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
On page 310 of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's published 1976 Sculpture of Auguste Rodin by
John Tancock, the author wrote of the Auguste Rodin's "Ecclesiastes"
plaster, in the museum's collection as "not signed and inscribed."[FN
46]
PLASTER NOT SIGNED - POSTHUMOUS BRONZE IS
So, if Auguste
Rodin did not sign an "Ecclesiastes" plaster posthumously acquired by
the Philadelphia Museum of Art from the Musee Rodin in the late 1920's,
how did the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation acquired an posthumous
Auguste Rodin "Ecclesiastes" bronze, "Signed and numbered by A. Rodin"
in 1995, some 78 years after his death?
On page 354 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary,
-counterfeit- is defined as: "To forge, copy, or imitate (something)
without the right to do so and with the purpose of deceiving or
defrauding."[FN 47]
"Sphinx
on a Column, c. 1889 or later, Musee Rodin cast III/IV in 1995, Bronze,
Godard, 36 x 6 1/8 x 9 in., (91.4 x 15.6 x 23 cm), Signed and numbered
A. Rodin No. III/IV and inscribed E. Godard Fondr and © BY MUSEE Rodin
1995, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1684" (p 185, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo:
The Sphinx, Montage on Column, Produced in 1990, Plaster, 36 [COLUMN:
30 ] x 6 x 9 in., (91.5, [COLUMN : 76.5] x 15.5 x 23 cm.), p 121. Rodin
by Raphael Masson & Veronique Mattiussi, © Editions Flammarion,
Paris - Musee Rodin, 2004
14 OF 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
The above photograph of the plaster,
titled "The Sphinx, Montage on Column" is listed, on page 121 in the
Musee Rodin's published 2004 Rodin
catalogue by Raphael Masson and Veronique Mattiussi, as produced in
1990. This posthumous plaster reproduction, that may have been
reproduced from Auguste Rodin's original lifetime plaster, may have been
the posthumous plaster reproduction sent to the Godard foundry for
casting "No. III/IV" in bronze.
Therefore, if the original
lifetime plaster was actually signed by Auguste Rodin, the posthumous
plaster reproduction would -at best- reproduce his signature. The
subsequent posthumous bronze, cast from that posthumous plaster
reproduction, would -at best- reproduce the reproduction of his
signature. So, to refer to, what at best, is a copy of a copy of
something Auguste Rodin may have signed as "Signed" is the kind of
troubling practice that undermines the credibility of the Musee Rodin,
much less those like the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation that
purchase these 2nd-generation-removed posthumous forgeries.
BACKGROUND
As a result, over the last
decade or so, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation and many of the
participating museums found themselves between a rock and hard place when confronted by the news media about these many contentious issues of authenticity with their traveling road shows of non-disclosed posthumous forgeries falsely attributed as sculptures by Auguste Rodin.
RODIN EXHIBITION TO PRODUCED BLOCKBUSTER NUMBERS
In a Buffalo News' published -front page-
March 28, 2004 "Lively debate on posthumous art" article by Tom
Buckham, the reporter wrote: "Who can blame the Albright-Knox Art
Gallery for counting on "Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession" to produce
blockbuster numbers when the exhibition of 70 works settles in for 10
weeks beginning April 20?"
Yet, "If art dealer Gary Arseneau is
to be believed," the reporter wrote: "all but a handful of the traveling
works from the California-based Cantor Foundation are "fakes" -
sculptures cast long after Rodin died 86 years ago and not from the
original plaster molds but from copies of those molds."
On the
other hand, "Albright-Knox Art Gallery curator for modern art and a
Rodin scholar" Ken Wayne, who wrote his doctoral dissertation on the
sculptor while a Cantor Fellow at Stanford University, not only rejected
this scholar's assertions that anything posthumous in the exhibition
were "copies of copies" but is quoted stating: "Some are lifetime works,
and some are posthumous. Posthumous casts are legitimate."
First,
how could someone who professes to be a "Rodin scholar" be unaware that
the Musee Rodin, as documented earlier, sends posthumous plaster
reproductions to the foundries for casting in bronze, so it: "preserves the old plasters which are obviously more valuable since they were made during the lifetime of Rodin.”
Second,
as for Curator Ken Wayne's use of the phrase "some are posthumous
casts," that "some" totaled at least fifty-four of the sixty or so
bronzes, in the exhibition, that were actually posthumously forged
between 1919 and 1995 with counterfeit "A. Rodin" signatures
inscriptions, some two to 78 years after Auguste Rodin's death in 1917.
The dead don't sculpt, much less sign.
Unfortunately,
for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, neither the museum nor their "Rodin
scholar" seemed prepared to address these contentious issues of
authenticity.
As for whether this scholar's assertions had
merit, the reporter wrote: "In a July 2000 article about the controversy
in the Winston-Salem Journal, William R. Gignilliat, an Atlanta lawyer
who specializes in intellectual property rights, generally agreed with
Arseneau that the posthumous Rodins should be identified as
reproductions, even if laws don't universally support the disclosure
requirement."
What made this Buffalo News' published "Lively
debate on posthumous art" article unique is unlike dozens of prior
published newspaper articles, concerning these contentious issues of
authenticity raised by this scholar with the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Foundation's so-called -Rodin- collection, it was published on the
-front page- giving it, its' widest audience.
22,000 ATTEND RODIN VERSUS 167,000 ATTENDED MONET
As
a result, five months later the potential consequences of that
published front page story became evident when the Buffalo News
published on July 2, 2004 "Rodin exhibit closes Saturday; gallery to
feature more self-produced shows" article by Tom Buckham. In part, the
reporter wrote: "Over the 11-week run that opened April 17, the
traveling retrospective from the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation,
containing 60 of the French master's bronze works, has drawn roughly
22,000 visitors. That's a far cry from the record 167,000 who came to
see "Monet at Giverny" during its 14-week stand in 1999, and many fewer
than have attended other recent exhibitions starring famous
Impressionists."
1.45 MILLION IN POTENTIAL LOST REVENUE With the Albright-Knox Art Gallery's $10 adult admission to view this exhibition, that 145,000 difference in attendance adds up to estimated $1.45 million in potential lost revenue.
So,
did the public stay away in droves because of the Buffalo News
published these contentious issues of authenticity in a front page
story?
Ironically, Albright-Knox spokeswoman Cheryl Orlick was
quoted in that article not only diminishing their attendance
expectations but backhandedly complimenting this scholar's exposure of
these contentious issues of authenticity: "We would have liked to see
more people, but we didn't really expect huge crowds" but "If anything,
the debate might have piqued peoples' interest a little bit."
Unfortunately,
future museums venues, of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's
collection of non-disclosed posthumous forgeries, would not respond as
kindly to these same contentious issues of authenticity being -debated-
by this scholar.
GLENBOW MUSEUM & CANTOR FOUNDATION PR CAMPAIGN
In
the Fall of 2004, in an attempt to preempt these contentious issues of
authenticity from being effectively brought up by this scholar in the
next venue: the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta [Canada], the museum
and its' Communications Specialist Tanis Booth, along
with the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's director Judith Sobol
and attorneys for the foundation put together a public relations
campaign titled: -The Curious Fixation of the “Rodin Chaser"-.
Here is the unedited version released September 23, 2004:
- MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- The Curious Fixation of the “Rodin Chaser"
- "Calgary, AB (September 23, 2004) –Beware Calgary! The "Rodin Chaser" will strike in our city in a few weeks. His target will be Glenbow Museum’s fall exhibition, Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession: Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation,
which will be on view from October 30, 2004 to January 30, 2005. This
exhibition features nearly 70 sculptures, drawings, and studies by
Auguste Rodin, considered by many as one of the greatest sculptors since
Michelangelo.
- "Since 1999, the "Rodin Chaser"
has dogged this acclaimed exhibition in different centres across the
United States. By now, the pattern is familiar. Shortly before the
scheduled opening of the exhibition, local media are bombarded with
lengthy and inflammatory e-mails from Florida artist and gallery owner
Gary Arseneau that denounce the sculptures in the Magnificent Obsession
show as fakes. Driven by an obsession of his own, Mr. Arseneau is a
self-proclaimed crusader on a mission to expose supposed art fraud. He
is the self-published author of several books on art and deception and
has been a vocal critic of many different exhibitions over the years.
Mr. Arseneau tracks the itinerary of A Magnificent Obsession as it
travels from place to place and Glenbow Museum is the next venue.
- "Gary Arseneau constantly repeats his mantra that ‘dead men
don’t sculpt’ and his claim that all posthumous Rodin casts are
‘fakes/reproductions’. The resulting controversy is quickly dispelled
when the terms of Rodin’s will and the unique situation of the Musée
Rodin are explained. Rodin willed his entire estate to France and he
authorized the casting of his work after his death. As Glenbow art
curator Monique Westra explains, “Dead men don’t sculpt but dead men
don’t change their minds either. The two central pillars of Rodin’s
legacy were the foundation of a museum, the Musée Rodin, dedicated to
his work and the ongoing casting of his sculptures following his death
to ensure the broad dissemination of his art.
- "Art experts, scholars and museum curators dismiss Arseneau’s
accusations as nonsense. Unfortunately Arseneau’s misinformed
allegations temporarily divert attention from the true value of the
exhibition, which presents the astounding work of a remarkable artist
whose images, ideas and working methods were daring and original,
setting artistic precedents which had a huge impact on the course of
modern art.
- "Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
is drawn from the largest private collection of Rodin in the world. It
was amassed by the late B. Gerald Cantor who was fascinated by the great
French artist’s work. This travelling exhibition has already been seen
by thousands of people across the United States. On at Glenbow Museum
from October 30, 2004 to January 30, 2005, Calgary is the first Canadian
venue before the show moves on to Halifax and Vancouver."
- Media contact:
- Tanis Booth, Communications Specialist
- Glenbow Museum
- (403) 268-4246
- tbooth@glenbow.org
On page 41 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary,
-ad hominen- is defined as: "Appealing to personal prejudices rather
than to reason; attacking an opponent's character rather than the
opponent's assertions."[FN 48]
Obviously, the Glenbow Museum, its' Communications Specialist Tanis Booth, the
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation director Judith Sobol's public
relations strategy, with their "Media Advisory: The Curious Fixation of
the Rodin Chaser," was not to address this scholar's assertions but to attack his character.
THE CURIOUS FIXATION OF THE RODIN CHASER PODCAST
The
Glenbow Museum's ad hominen strategy toward this scholar was further
confirmed in a 2006 "Media Relations Matters" online podcast titled "The
Curious Fixation of the Rodin Chaser,"[FN
49] interview by Media Training Consultant Eric Bergman with Glenbow
Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt (maiden name Booth)
concerning the museum's Fall 2004 Rodin, A Magnificent Obsession, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation exhibition.
2006 IABC GOLD QUILL AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
This “The Curious Fixation of the Rodin Chaser
With Tanis Shortt” podcast interview is described as: “This 10-minute
conversation with Tanis Shortt discusses her 2006 IABC Gold Quill award
of excellence. She developed a proactive media relations campaign to
fend off potential negative publicity when the Glenbow Museum in
Calgary, Alberta, Canada, featured a three-month showing of Rodin: A
Magnificent Obsession, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Foundation.”[FN 50]
ILLEGITIMATE SOURCE OF CULTURAL AUTHENTICITY In
the interview, the Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis
Shortt stated: "that when we were developing the marketing and media
campaign for this exhibition, we were advised by the Iris and B. Gerald
Cantor Foundation, which is actually one of the largest private
collector of Rodin sculpture and who was touring the show, that there is
a self-proclaimed crusader who denounces the sculptures in this
exhibition. He claimed they were frauds because they were cast following
the death of Rodin. And so we were concerned about Glenbow's reputation
if we were, I guess, treated in the media as being an illegitimate
source of cultural authenticity."[FN 51]
A "Glenbow
Museum's Communication Specialist," named Tanis Shortt states:
"sculptures in the exhibition" but admits "they were cast following the
death of Rodin" and they are concerned the media will treat the Glenbow
Museum as "an illegitimate source of cultural authenticity?"
So, did this "Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist" have the right to be concerned about the Glenbow Museum's reputation?
BEAT HIM TO THE PUNCH
The Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt stated that the museum developed a media strategy to notify the news media with a -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau] and a "backgrounder" [on the authenticity of these sculptures] to "beat him to the punch."[FN 52]
The Glenbow Museum's "The Curious Fixation of the Rodin Chaser" -media advisory-, stated: "Gary
Arseneau constantly repeats his mantra that ‘dead men don’t sculpt’ and
his claim that all posthumous Rodin casts are ‘fakes/reproductions’"
and "Art experts, scholars and museum curators dismiss Arseneau’s accusations as nonsense."
So, who are these so-called "art experts, scholars and museum curators," referred to in this -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau], that supposedly believe the dead can sculpt and that anything cast, much less posthumously, is not, at best, a reproduction?
The only name given on this Glenbow Museum -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau] is the "Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt" who admits later in this interview she has "no curatorial background."
QUITE NEGATIVE AT PREVIOUS VENUES
Despite some misgivings within the Glenbow Museum concerning this -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau] strategy, Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt stated: "when we demonstrated how it had proven to be quite negative at the previous venues where the show had been hosted,"[FN 53] the museum signed off on it.
So, when the Glenbow Museum didn't like the message, their Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt recommended they attack the messenger.
INITIALLY WANTED TO CALLED HIM THE RODIN STALKER
As for the -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau], the Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt, stated: "The
one hiccup that we thought was totally unexpected was we initially
wanted to call him the Rodin Stalker because he'd actually, this fellow,
who is the self proclaimed crusader, had previously been referred to as
the Rodin Stalker in the media by the media in the U.S. And when we ran
this initial document by the lawyers of the Cantor Foundation who's the
owner of all these works, the lawyer actually advised that was not a
good idea because the legal connotation to using the word stalking. Of
course it's a felony. So, we actually had to go back and change it. And
of course we thought stalker certainly conveyed a certain message and we
still wanted to indicate why or we still wanted to use a word that sort
of demonstrated how aggressive this person was in his approach to the
media. So, we sort of back peddled and came up with the chaser, the Rodin Chaser. We thought it was still kind of fun phrase." [FN 54]
On page 1412, of the Seventh Edition of Black's Dictionary,
-stalking- is defined as: "1. The act or an instance of following
another by stealth. 2. The offense of following or loitering near
another, often surreptitiously with the purpose of annoying or harassing
that person or committing a further crime such as assault or
battery."[FN 55]
On page 427 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary,
-defamation- is defined as: "The act of harming the reputation of
another by making a false statement to a third person."[FN 56]
So,
even after being warned by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
attorneys that referring to this scholar as a "stalker" would imply a
"felony" has been committed, this "Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist" Tanis Shortt still years later continue to potentially defame this scholar when she publicly states: "of course we thought stalker certainly conveyed a certain message."
NOT EVERYBODY HAS A CURATORIAL BACKGROUND, INCLUDING MYSELF
The
Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt, when asked "in
terms of briefing the media did you have to walk that balance so that
you did not overwhelm them with information?," she responded: "Yea,
absolutely and that's something we had to do on a day to day basis so
we're not alienating ourselves because not everybody has a curatorial
background, including myself."[FN 57]
CASTING PROCESS - AN ART FORM
The Glenbow
Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt was asked by Eric
Bergman: "So, did they [media] find that they were able to ask more
sophisticated questions of the Rodin Chaser because they had that
information in advance and to pick through at what were really - really
the facts were of the story, is that something that you, some feedback
that you got back from reporters?," she responded: "It was,
I think the other thing we were really please with was to see the level
of interest in the whole casting process, its a pretty complicated
process for an art form."[FN 58]
Since, -cast-, by definition,
means to reproduce an object such as a sculpture by use of an mold and
art is created by a living artist, what are we to think of the Glenbow
Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt who would commingle cast
versus art as if they were interchangeable, much less the same?
OTHER ART MUSEUMS - INITIATE THE SAME STRATEGY
"Beyond that," the
Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt stated: "this
media relations strategy has since been taken on using both our
materials and speaking with us in advance to develop their own campaign
by five other art museums across North America and I think that's a,
that's a big success story in itself. - I think we were in even more
pleased because it wasn't even just in Canada, we've actually had three
art museums in the states who recognized the success of the campaign and
wanting to take it on and initiate the same, initiate the same strategy
for themselves."[FN 59]
On page 1232 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary,
-propaganda- is defined as: "The systematic dissemination of doctrine,
rumor, or selected information to promote or injure a particular
doctrine, view or cause."[FN 60]
What the Glenbow
Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt failed to disclose, in
this interview, is that these museums, with one known exception,
plagiarized the Glenbow Museum -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau] without giving proper attribution to its' source. So, aside the fraud of misrepresenting, for monetary consideration, including but not limited to admission fees and city-state-federal grants, non-disclosed posthumous forgeries, from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, as sculptures, these museums were intellectually dishonest.
For confirmation, compare these two pdf files :
- The Curious Fixation of the "Rodin Chaser" [pdf
201k] (September 23, 2004) *This media strategy won a 2006
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill
Award of Excellence in the Media Relations category).
- http://www.glenbow.org/about/media/archived.cfm
Beware Vancouver of the “Rodin Chaser!” May
16, 2005 ... Vancouver, BC – Beware Vancouver, the “Rodin Chaser” may
strike in our city in ... Since 1999, the “Rodin Chaser” has dogged this
acclaimed ...www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/media_room/pdf/rodin_chaser.pdf
As for the Glenbow Museum and Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's assertions that "Art
experts, scholars and museum curators dismiss Arseneau’s accusations as
nonsense," contrast that with the following, but not limited to, two
examples:
DR. ROBERT TORCHIA
FIRST, "concerning the Cummer's forthcoming exhibition of Rodin's Movement to Victor Hugo" from the Iris and B. Cantor Foundation, in
an April 8, 1999 letter (copy above) to this scholar from the Cummer
Museum of Art & Gardens curator, systematic cataloger for the
National Gallery of Art, author and Ph.D in Art History, Dr. Robert
Torchia wrote: "Although this is an extremely complex issue, I have to
admit that I am in basic agreement with your objections concerning the
work's originality and degree of authenticity."
SECOND, is the
Opelika-Auburn News' published January 2, 2005 "Rodin's legacy, The
artist who helped usher in the age of ambiguity in sculpture continues
to raise questions almost 90 years after his death" article by Jason Nix
concerning an Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's Rodin: In his Own Words exhibition in 2005 at Auburn University.
AU ART PROFESSOR MARK GRAHAM
Despite
the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's director Judith Sobol's
quote: "We don't comment about his [Gary Arseneau] contentions because
they don't bear any weight whatsoever in the art world - Nobody who
knows anything about the field doubts the originality of these pieces. I
don't understand what entitles him to a point of view that's covered by
the press. It's talking about the picture frame and no the picture,"
the reporter wrote: "Mark Graham, an AU art professor and interim
department head, disagrees."
The reporter Jason Nix quotes Mark
Graham stating: "Mr. Arseneau might be abrasive in his approach, but a
lot of the issues he raises are real issues. - The Rodin estate has been
turned into a Rodin industry. It's not common in sculpture to keep
reproducing an artist's work after his death the way we see with this
artist."
DISNEYLAND VACATION OF RODIN'S ART
Additionally,
the reporter wrote: "Like Arseneau, Graham takes issue with the use of
the term 'original' to describe works produced after the Rodin's death."
The reporter quotes AU art professor and interim department head Mark
Graham stating: "The term 'original' is a stretch - a Rodin original is
any version that was authorized by him or which had his input. With
this, you're not seeing work that reflects Auguste Rodin's input. This
exhibit is a Disneyland vacation of Rodin's art."
LAW, ETHICS AND THE VISUAL ARTS
On page 816-817 of Kluwer Law International’s published 1998 Law, Ethics and the Visual Arts, Third Edition by John Henry Merryman and Albert E. Elsen wrote about “Counterfeit Art.”[FN 61]
Under
the subtitle “Truth,” the authors wrote: “The most serious harm that
good counterfeits do is to confuse and misdirect the search for valid
learning. The counterfeit objects falsifies history and misdirects
inquiry.”[FN 62]
Additionally, under the subtitle “Resource
Allocation,” the authors wrote: “Museum and art historical resources are
always limited. What gets acquired, displayed, conserved and studied is
the result of a continuous process of triage, in which some objects can
be favoured only at the expenses of others. Counterfeit objects distort
the process.”[FN 63]
Finally, under the subtitle “Fraud,” the
authors wrote: “There remains the most obvious harm of all: counterfeit
cultural objects are instruments of fraud. Most are created in order to
deceive and defraud, but even “innocent” counterfeits can, and often
will, be so used. The same considerations of justice and social order
that make deliberate fraud of others kinds criminal apply equally to
fraud through the medium of counterfeit art...”[FN 64]
CONCLUSION
What
needs to be accomplished is the full and honest disclosure of all
reproductions as -reproductions- by all museums, auction houses and art
dealers. If the Laguna College of Art & Design and the Iris and B.
Gerald Cantor Foundation will give full and honest disclosure for all
reproductions as: -reproductions- it would allow museum patrons to give
informed consent on whether they wish to attend an exhibit of
reproductions, much less pay the price of admission and/or [in this
case] purchase $500 to $25,000 "Sponsorship Opportunities [as] tax
deductible gifts."
But if these objects are not reproductions by
definition and law, but -forgeries- with or without counterfeit
signatures or inscriptions applied, much less posthumous, to create the
illusion the artist created it, much less approved and signed it, then
serious consequences of law may come into play for those who chose to
misrepresent these -forgeries- for profit.
The reputations and
legacy of living and past artists, present and future museum art patrons
and the art-buying public deserve the re-establishment of the obvious;
that the living presence and participation of the artist to once again
be required, as it always should have been, to create the piece of art
attributable to the artist if indeed it is attributed to them, much less
purported to have been signed by them.
FOOTNOTES:
1. http://www.lagunacollege.edu/news.php?id=62
2. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864
3. www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101
4. http://www.lagunacollege.edu/news.php?id=62
5. Ibid
6. p 661, Seventh Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864
7. www.lagunacollege.edu/downloads/Procedures_Manual.pdf
8. HOW TO FIND THIS MUSEE RODIN QUOTE:
First, go to the www.musee-rodin.fr/welcome.htm website,
then under “Contents on the left column click on “Collections,”
once on new screen click on the “Meudon” button,
then scoll down new screen till you reach the photograph of
“Assemblage of two figures of Even and crouching women”
and then count fourteen lines down for the quote.
9. Copyright © Bena Mayer, Executrix of the Estate of Ralph Mayer, 1991, ISBN 0-06-461012-8 (pbk.)
10. 1981 Rodin Rediscovered ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)
11. Ibid
12.Re: Rodin exhibition checklist request
From: Kerri Redeker (kredeker@lagunacollege.edu)
Sent: Mon 7/11/11 9:33 PM
To: gary arseneau (gwarseneau@hotmail.com)
1 attachment
Labels.pdf (71.0 KB)
Hi Gary,
Attached are the labels I created for the show. They have all the information of each piece.
Kerri
Rodin labels
From: Kerri Redeker (kredeker@lagunacollege.edu)
Sent: Thu 7/21/11 5:54 PM
To: gary arseneau (gwarseneau@hotmail.com)
1 attachment
91520 LCAD 14 Labels.pdf (69.7 KB)
--
Kerri Lei Redeker
Executive Assistant to the Academic Deans
Laguna College of Art + Design
949-376-6000 ext. 240
13.
page 285 in the former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent’s
“Observations on Rodin and His Founders” essay, published in the
National Gallery of Art’s published 1981 Rodin Rediscovered ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)
14. http://www.lagunacollege.edu/news.php?id=62
15. © 1988 by Ste Nlle des Editions du Chene, Translation copyright © by Emily Read, ISBN 0-8050-1252-4
16.
p 285 in the former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent’s “Observations
on Rodin and His Founders” essay, published in the National Gallery of
Art’s published 1981 Rodin Rediscovered ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)
17. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/rbrz.html
18. Copyright © Bena Mayer, Executrix of the Estate of Ralph Mayer, 1991, ISBN 0-06-461012-8 (pbk.)
19. www. cantorfoundation.org/ Education/guide5.html
20. www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/casting1.html
21. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864
22.
Volume 2, Musee Rodin: 972-2-9014-2890-9, RMN: 978-2-7118-4941-3, ©
Musee Rodin Paris, 2007, 19, boulevard des Invalides, 75007 Paris
23. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/About/about3.html
24.
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundations: Rodin: Sculpture from the Iris
and B. Gerald Cantor Collection, Working Checklist July 23, 1997,
Nevada Museum of Art, 1801 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 435, Los Angeles,
California 90067, 310 277-4600
25. Copyright 2001 by the
Association of Art Museum Directors, All rights reserved, Printed in the
United States of America, ISBN 1-880974-02-9
26. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/rbrz.html
27.
Volume 2, Musee Rodin: 972-2-9014-2890-9, RMN: 978-2-7118-4941-3, ©
Musee Rodin Paris, 2007, 19, boulevard des Invalides, 75007 Paris
28. © 2003 by Oxford University Press, Inc., ISBN 0-19-513380-3 (cloth)
29. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864
30.
Volume 2, Musee Rodin: 972-2-9014-2890-9, RMN: 978-2-7118-4941-3, ©
Musee Rodin Paris, 2007, 19, boulevard des Invalides, 75007 Paris
31.
p 281, "An Original in Sculpture" essay by Jean Chatelain, professor at
the University of Paris and former director of the Museums of France,
1981 Rodin Rediscovered ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)
32. [copy forward by email from a newspaper source]
“SUMMARY: AUTHORIZED POSTHUMOUS CASTING OF THE WORK OF AUGUSTE RODIN
“All
works in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection and Cantor Foundation
Collection are original Rodins. Some of these were made during Rodin’s
lifetime, others were made after he died and according to his explicit
wishes and instructions to the government of France.
“In
the early part of the 19th century, the creation of sculpture became a
large-scale enterprise. Growing cities and an expanding middle class
created new patrons and markets for modern sculpture. Advances in the
techniques for creating editions in bronze allowed for the production of
a great number of high quality examples. Auguste Rodin achieved success
as an artist within this environment and naturally tailored his
subjects as well as his output to satisfy an increasing demand for
examples of this most popular works. During his lifetime, Rodin
sometimes licensed commercial foundries to cast unlimited editions of
his works. Certain foundries were even given the discretion to enlarge
or reduce the size of the original model according to the demands of the
market. Thousands of sculptures were produced by foundries that would
make new casts without hesitation whenever there were customers for
them. (There were, for example, more than 300 casts of The Kiss, in
different dimensions, produced during Rodin’s lifetime.)
“Throughout
his lifetime, Rodin was keenly interested in the broad dissemination of
his work. He employed a number of assistants to make plaster casts from
clay sculptures. These plasters were exhibited and also were provided
to foundries so that they could, in turn, use them to produce casts in
bronze. Rodin generally did not supervise the steps of casting his
bronzes as they emerged from the foundries that had contracts to produce
large quantities of his works.
“In
1916, Rodin willed his entire estate, including his artistic property
and the right to continue to cast his work posthumously, to France. The
French government’s agent who oversees this is the Musée Rodin. Since
Rodin’s death in 1917, the Musée has been casting sculptures either from
the molds left by the artist or from molds taken from his plasters. The
Musée Rodin continued to use the Alexis Rudier foundry until it closed
in 1953; after this the bronzes were cast at the foundry of George
Rudier until 1983. More recently, the Coubertin Foundry has been used by
the Musée Rodin because of its high standards of craftsmanship. People
knowledgeable in the field are confident that Rodin fully understood the
process he authorized and trusted his executors when he allowed them to
cast bronzes from his original molds and models after his death.
“Efforts
have been made in France by the Musée Rodin and in the United States by
the College Art Association to ensure the quality and authenticity of
posthumous casts, as well as their accurate identification as such. In
1956, the casting of each of Rodin’s works was limited by French law to
twelve examples.
"Indeed,
three of Rodin’s most important commissions, The Gates of Hell, the
Monument to Balzac, and the Monument to Victor Hugo were, to his great
disappointment, not cast during his lifetime. However, the right that he
designated in his will for posthumous casting by his estate has made it
possible for these commissions to be realized after his death as they
had been intended. Thus the 20th and 21st century public and generations
of artists and students have been able to see them.
“A
primary mission of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is to make
work of Auguste Rodin available to a broad public audience through the
organization and support of exhibitions, scholarship, and publications
associated with the artist and his work.”
33. Copyright © Bena Mayer, Executrix of the Estate of Ralph Mayer, 1991, ISBN 0-06-461012-8 (pbk.)
34.
Volume 2, Musee Rodin: 972-2-9014-2890-9, RMN: 978-2-7118-4941-3, ©
Musee Rodin Paris, 2007, 19, boulevard des Invalides, 75007 Paris
35. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/rbrz.html
36. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/casting1.html
37. Ibid
38. HOW TO FIND THIS MUSEE RODIN QUOTE:
First, go to the www.musee-rodin.fr/welcome.htm website,
then under “Contents on the left column click on “Collections,”
once on new screen click on the “Meudon” button,
then scoll down new screen till you reach the photograph of
“Assemblage of two figures of Even and crouching women”
and then count fourteen lines down for the quote.
39. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/casting1.html
40.
www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101 - § 106A. Rights of certain
authors to attribution and integrity37 (a) Rights of Attribution and
Integrity. — Subject to section 107 and independent of the exclusive
rights provided in section 106, the author of a work of visual art — (1)
shall have the right — (A) to claim authorship of that work, and (3)
The rights described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall
not apply to any reproduction,
41.
www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101 - § 101. Definitions2 A
“derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works,
such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization,
fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art
reproduction
42. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=35364124403+2+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
43.
Sculpture Review (ISSN 0747-5248) is published quarterly by the
National Sculpture Society, Inc., 117 Avenue fo the Americas, New York,
NY 10036, 212 7645645
44 © 1998 Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, ISBN: 1 85894 071 0 (exhibition paperback)
45.
Hard copy of this telephone conversation was OVERNIGHTED by U.S. Postal
Service (Tracking No. EE43307188US) on September 23, 1999 to Ruth
Butler 41 Holden Street Cambridge, MA 02138-2038
46. Copyright © 1976 by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Trade edition: ISBN 087923-157-2
47. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864
48. Ibid
49. http://www.presentwithease.com/tanisshortt.html
50. http://www.presentwithease.com/podcast.html
51.http://www.presentwithease.com/tanisshortt.html
52. Ibid
53. ibid
54. Ibid
55. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864
56. Ibid
57. http://www.presentwithease.com/tanisshortt.html
58. Ibid
59. Ibid
60. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864
61. © Kluwer Law International 1998, ISBN 90-411-0697-9
62. Ibid
63. Ibid
64. Ibid
ADDENDUM:
[LCAD'S JULY 11, 2011 CHECKLIST]
The Benedictions
Modeled 1894
This cast: cast number and edition size unknown
Georges Rudier Foundry
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Saint John The Baptist Preaching
Modeled about 1880
This cast: cast number and edition size unknown, cast in 1925
Alexis Rudier Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
About 1885-89
This cast: cast number, edition size and date of cast unknown
Perzinka Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Tragic Muse
Modeled 1894-96
Godard Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Torso Of The Walking Man
Modeled 1878-79
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 10 in an edition of 12 in 1979
Coubertin Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Idyll Of Ixelles
Modeled 1885
This cast: 4/8
Coubertin Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Sphinx On A Column
Modeled 1889 or later
This cast: III/IV
Godard Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Illusions Received By The Earth (The Fallen Angel)
Modeled 1895
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 7 in an edition of 8 in 1983
Coubertin Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection
The Night (Single Figure) (aka Standing Female
Nude Combing Her Hair)
Modeled after 1898
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 5 in an edition of 12 in1973
Georges Rudier Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
The Night (Double Figure)
Modeled after 1898
This cast: Musée Rodin cast I/IV in 1983
Godard Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Dance Movement ‘D’
Modeled about 1910-11
This cast: Marked No. 1, edition size and date unknown
Unknown Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Venus (aka Aphrodite)
Modeled about 1888
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 9 in an edition of 12 in 1978
Godard Foundry
Ecclesiastes
Modeled before 1899
This cast: Musée Rodin cast II/IV in 1995
Godard Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Sorrow
Modeled 1889
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 1 in an edition of 8 in 1983
Coubertin Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection
