Artists Gwen John and Auguste Rodin — A Passionate Love Affair
I believe the French Sculptor and the Welsh Artist changed each other’s lives, and art…
For many years the artist Gwen John was overshadowed by her artist brother Augustus, as much by his overpowering personae as by his large, bold, somewhat extravagant work. Today that is no longer the case, with Gwen’s work a firmly established part, not only of British art, but of French, and particularly Parisian art.
I believe Gwen John’s passionate love affair with the sculptor Auguste Rodin, which she has described as the happiest time of her life, changed their lives and their art.
Perhaps it was Rodin’s overpowering personae, and his bold, and often extravagant art that attracted this small prim woman to him, or maybe it was his kindness when they first met as he dusted off an old wicker chair, which he then placed in front of the large stove in his studio for Gwen to warm herself before she removed her clothes?
There can be no doubt they were both attracted to each other at that first meeting to see if Gwen might make a good model. Rodin was delighted with what he saw, and as Susan Chitty writes in her…
