Description
Rodin (1840-1917)
The Kiss (1886)
Like the Thinker, The Kiss is also taken from The Gates Of Hell, Rodin’s magnum opus. Originally it is based on the figures Paolo and Francesca from Dante’s Inferno, who were convicted to Hell for eternity because they kissed each other after Francesca had married Paolo’s brother. Rodin has executed the Kiss both in bronze and in marble.
In 1893, The Kiss was submitted to the World Columbian Fair in Chicago, but the American authorities found the sculpture too proacative for public exhibition. It was erected in a private room to which there was only access by “special permission”. Perhaps due to the secret atmosphere, the exhibition was a great success and to this day The Kiss has remained one of the most popular of Rodin’s works.
