Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession was published in 2001. It is a full catalogue of the collections of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor and of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, as they existed at that time. It is lavishly illustrated with color photographs by Steve Oliver as well as with historic photographs. The book includes a Foreword by Rachael Blackburn, a complete checklist of the Collections, and the following essays:
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Kirk Varnedoe: “The Collector and the Scholar”
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Jacques Vilain: “The Legacy of B. Gerald Cantor”
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Antoinette Le Normand-Romain: “Rodin’s Studio”
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Mary L. Levkoff: “The Monuments to The Burghers of Calais, Victor Hugo, and Honoré de Balzac”
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Aida Audeh: “Rodin’s Gates of Hell: Sculptural Illustration of Dante’s Divine Comedy”
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Daniel Rosenfeld: “Rodin’s Partial Figures.”
Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession, Merrell Publishers, London, in Association with the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, Los Angeles, 2001. (Available through merrellpublishers.com.)
Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. This small booklet has accompanied the Foundation’s exhibitions as they have traveled for decades all over the world. Included are articles about the Cantor Foundation, a biography of Rodin, a discussion of the sculptor’s legacy, a visual essay demonstrating the process of lost-wax casting, and information about three of Rodin’s major works, The Gates of Hell, The Burghers of Calais, and Monument to Balzac. The booklet includes information about how Rodin worked, about sculpture in the age of mechanical reproduction, and about reductions and enlargements. There is also a timeline comparing events in Rodin’s life to concurrent world events. The 12-page brochure, written by the Foundation staff, is fully illustrated and available by contacting the Foundation.
DVD: Rodin: The Gates of Hell. This 53-minute DVD was co-produced by Iris Cantor and documents the triumphs and difficulties that attended the first lost wax casting of this piece. Beginning in 1880 and going on for more than twenty years, Rodin labored on this massive work; yet it was never cast during his life because the building for which the doors were meant, was not built. In 1979 Iris and Bernie Cantor commissioned the first cast of this bronze to be fabricated using Rodin’s favored technique, cire perdue or lost-wax. This DVD contains stunning footage of the casting process, a biography of the artist accompanied by many historic photos, and a discussion of the art work and its effect on the artist’s career and on his artist-colleagues. Made in 1979 to accompany the exhibition Rodin Rediscovered, this critically acclaimed production won nine film awards. Rodin: The Gates of Hell was produced by Iris Cantor.
Published with underwriting support from the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, Antoinette Le Normand-Romain’s The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin was published in 2007 by the Réunion des Musées Nationaux. It is a two volume, exhaustive history of every bronze by Rodin that ever passed through the doors of the Musée Rodin. It is available in two-volume sets in either French or English. It includes an Introduction by Dr. Ruth Butler, as well as other opening essays. There are illustrations of hundreds of objects, provenance information, and superlative and fascinating documentation.
There are many other significant volumes about Rodin and his work; some are available and others are out-of-print. We refer you to your local library and to the internet.
