[lit-ideas] Re: Le Pensateur (The Thinker)
- From: "Peter D. Junger" <junger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2004 06:41:43 -0400
Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx writes:
:
:
: In a message dated 8/7/2004 2:41:54 PM Eastern Standard Time, goya@xxxxxxx
: writes:
: M.C. I don't *know* what gravity it is; in fact I don't even *know*=20
: what it is not.
:
: ----
:
: I wouldn't get too convoluted into an analysis of 'gravity'. It's just a
: mistranslation of 'pensateur', thinker -- the famous sculpture by Rodin that
: S.
: Weil would see everyday on the metro to the Tulleries.
:
: Thinker and Grace. Grace being the other sculpture by Mrs. Rodin, not so
: well known. They are both now in the same museum (The Rodin Museum, in Paris)
There are several casts of the Thinker, which was sculptedby M. Rodin I
believe. One cast was exploded here in Cleveland:
The Thinker
Foreign title: Le Penseur
Auguste Rodin (French, 1840 - 1917)
Medium: bronze, green patina
Measurements: Overall: 182.9cm x 98.4cm x 142.2cm
Date: 1880-1881
Gift of Ralph King 1917.42
The Thinker Vandalized
At approximately 1am on March 24, 1970, a bomb irreparably
damaged the Cleveland Museum's version of Rodin's The Thinker.
The bomb itself had been placed on a pedestal that supported
the enlargement and had the power of about three sticks of dynamite.
No one was injured in the subsequent blast, but the statue's base
and lower legs were destroyed. The remaining sections of the cast
were blown backward to form a 'plume' at the base, and the
entire statue was knocked to the ground. It was reported that
this attack was undertaken by a radical political group, perhaps
as a commentary on the continuing military action in Vietnam or
the elitism of the American government.
Regardless, no one was ever arrested or charged with the
destruction. However, the incident highlighted several
conservation issues related directly to artistic intent. Since
the piece was so dramatically damaged, the Museum was unsure how
to proceed. One idea was to create an entirely new cast to replace
the damaged work. Another idea was to restore the sculpture by
recasting elements of Rodin's original. Finally, however, it was
decided that the statue should not be repaired, but placed outside
the Museum in its damaged condition.
<http://www.clevelandart.org/educef/rodin/html/1996461.html>.
--
Peter D. Junger--Case Western Reserve University Law School--Cleveland, OH
EMAIL: junger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx URL: http://samsara.law.cwru.edu
NOTE: junger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx no longer exists
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