Author Description

On the 100th anniversary of their deaths, Gustav Klimt and Auguste Rodin are celebrated as two pioneers of modernism who set new standards in their chosen media. Although they worked in different media, Auguste Rodin and Gustav Klimt were two artists whose output generated both incredible enthusiasm and virulent denunciation in their lifetimes. On the centenary of their deaths, in 1917 and 1918 respectively, this opulent volume highlights the remarkable parallels between the two creators: their passion for the human figure, erotic subject matter, pioneering techniques, and the achievement of international success. In chapters of alternating perspectives, this book features essays on fin-de-siècle Vienna, the phenomenon of artistic celebrity, and a tribute to the two seminal works that each artist gave the same name: The Kiss. Bringing these two masters together for the first time in such a detailed manner, this book captures a significant moment in European culture and demonstrates why their geniuses still speak so profoundly to us today.