Rodin: Contemplation and Dreams

June 17 – October 8, 2023

Explore sculptures by Auguste Rodin through one of the most extensive exhibitions of the artist’s works ever shown in Wisconsin as well as the largest installation of sculptures presented in the Paine’s history with Rodin: Contemplation and Dreams / Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collections.

About the Exhibition

Celebrated as the greatest sculptor of the modern era, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) powerfully revived the ancient art form of bronze sculpture. With works like The Thinker and The Gates of Hell, he breathed new emotional life into the human figure as never seen before.

In Rodin: Contemplation and Dreams / Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collections, visitors can immerse themselves in the works of this artistic giant through more than 40 examples of the artist’s bronzes, including nine monumental statues. The exhibition focuses on Rodin’s use of the figure to explore facets of the human condition and on the sculptural processes for modeling and casting.

Rodin: Contemplation and Dreams is the largest installation of sculptures in the Paine’s history as well as one of the most extensive exhibitions of works by Rodin ever shown in Wisconsin. The title of the exhibition comes from Rodin himself, who said that artworks “open before us an enchanted land of contemplation and dreams.”

This exhibition has been organized and made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.

The presentation of this exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Michael J. Castle, a long-time board member and champion of the Paine, with generous support from the JEK Foundation.

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