Eve by Auguste Rodin

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The piece of art I chose to analyze was the sculpture “Eve”. It was constructed in 1881 by Auguste Rodin. Rodin was a French artist who lived from 1840-1917. He was a very influential sculptor. His pieces of art are distinguished by their stunning strength and realism. His art pieces show distress and moral weakness as well as passion and beauty. “Eve” is a world famous sculpture and known as one of his most powerful and influential works. “Eve” was first introduced in his design for “The Gates of Hell’. He received a commission to create an entrance for the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris in 1880. Adam and Eve, the first sinners, were planned to be placed on either side of The Gates. The museum was never built but Rodin kept working on “The Gates of Hell” and turned “Adam” and “Eve” into their own individual pieces. Inspiration for the sculpture came from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel fresco. “Eve” is a woman with a S-curved body, her arms over her breasts, and her head looking downward. This protective stance suggests shame and pain resulting from guilt. “Eve” does not appear as the origin of human sin or represents evil. Rather, she is showing the frailty of the human condition, who is exposed to threats and seduction. The shame and remorse showing in the sculpture is her feelings after the Fall , which was the transition of the first humans from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience to God. She is ashamed of her fault, withering in fear, worried not for her sin but rather the idea of creating other human beings who will suffer in the future from her actions. “Eve”, in all her shame, represents the source of humankind’s fall from grace. My interpretation of the sculpture is that Eve is trying to fight off something, possibly embarrassment or consequences of her sins. She is trying to hide herself, ashamed to show the world
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