Auguste Rodin

Literary Nonfiction. Art. Sculpture. Biography. Translated from the German by Daniel Slager. Introduction by William Gass. Sculptor Auguste Rodin was fortunate to have as his secretary Rainer Maria Rilke, one of the most sensitive poets of our time. These two pieces discussing Rodin's work and development as an artist are as revealing of Rilke as they are of his subject. Written in 1902 and 1907, these essays mark the entry of the poet into the world of letters. Rilke's description of Rodin sheds light on the profound psychic connection between the two great artists, both masters of giving visible life to the invisible.