In 1913, photos of The Nataraja bronze from the Chennai Museum inspired Auguste Rodin's text The Dance of Shiva. Written at the end of his life, this vision of Shiva, Lord of actor/dancers, revealed the underlying links between Rodin's dance sculptures (1910), the Cambodian dancer drawings, and his private collection of antique Venus and Buddha sculptures and wood carvings from India. In this book, historians, artists and poets both French and Indian, bring us a new international vision of Rodin's work.
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) was not only the world’s greatest sculptor, known for such works as The Thinker, The Kiss, The Hand of God, and dozens of others, but also one of the most remarkable personalities of modern times: an artist who outraged contemporaries with his disturbingly unfinished monuments; a sensualist who shocked France with his scandalous relationships (among others, with Camille Claudel); and a friend to the most gifted writers and artists of his day. “A consistently absorbing story... Mr. Grunfeld is primarily concerned with setting out — insofar as they can be separated from the art — the facts of the sculptor’s life, and within his chosen limits he has written a rewarding and illuminating book.” — John Gross, The New York Times “An excellent job... will undoubtedly serve as an excellent biography of the artist.” — Benedict Read, The New York Times “Rodin finally has a biography worthy of his achievements.” — Washington Post Book World “Grunfeld’s rigorously researched and gracefully written biography of Rodin is, by far, the best in its field.” — Robert Taylor, Boston Globe “Rodin’s creative life is vividly recaptured [by Grunfeld]... No previous biography has so clearly placed him amid his colleagues and assorted friends — Victor Hugo, George Bernard Shaw, Rainer Maria Rilke, Marie Curie, James McNeill Whistler, Robert Louis Stevenson, Isadora Duncan, and many others. Nor has any placed him in the raking light of his vanity, many amours (an epic in itself) and the sexual instincts inseparable from his work.” — Cleveland Plain Dealer “Grunfeld has rescued Rodin from the twin mythic images of heroic, possessed demigod or sex-obsessed bohemian... This remarkably intimate portrait should win awards.” — Publishers Weekly “Grunfeld's book shines out. It is an excellent general biography... seamlessly written and almost un-put-downable. He skilfully covers not only Rodin's personal history but also his work and the world he lived in.” — Benedict Read, The Spectator “A vibrant biography of the great French sculptor... With all the naturalistic detail of Zola and the color of canvases by Monet, Grunfeld chronicles Rodin’s rocky career... That this exhaustive book is never dull is something of a feat... Grunfeld’s Rodin, modeled in high relief against his place and time, emerges not so much a statuary monument as a three-dimensional man.” — Kirkus Review “Well researched... A marvelous roster of personalities, politicians, writers, and artists of the time pass through the pages of the book, placing Rodin in the mainstream of the cultural life of the Third Republic.” — Gerald M. Ackerman, Los Angeles Times
With a curation of objects from the prehistoric ages through twenty-first century India, Sudeshna Guha provides a panoramic view of the rich histories of the subcontinent. The incisive essays in this collection detail not just the objects but the histories of their reception: examining how changing times and attitudes cast their shadow on the ways in which the past is interpreted and narrated. In doing so, A History of India through 75 Objects inspires us to interrogate our own notions of a knowable past and fixed national history. Teeming with thought-provoking insights and surprising anecdotes, the essays instill a sense of wonder about the continuous processes by which histories are constructed.
Drawing on strange and thought-provoking case studies, an eminent neurologist offers unprecedented insight into the evolution of the uniquely human brain.
Written in 1912, "Venus" is sculptor Auguste Rodin's passionate ode to one of art's great masterpieces, the Venus de Milo, now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. This new, expanded edition of Rodin's unique text, also includes "The Dance of Shiva," Rodin's loose, written impressions of a bronze statue of the Hindu god Shiva. This is Dorothy Dudley's original, authorized English translation of "Venus" from 1912. "The Dance of Shiva" was newly translated by Tina A. Kover in 2009.
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The brain remains a mystery to us. How can a three-pound mass of jelly that can fit in our palm imagine angels, contemplate the meaning of infinity, and even question its own place in the cosmos? Renowned neuroscientist Prof. V.S. Ramachandran takes us on a fascinating journey into the human brain by studying patients who exhibit bizarre symptoms and using them to understand the functions of a normal brain. Along the way he asks big questions: How did abstract thinking evolve? What is art? Why do we laugh? How are these hardwired into the neural mechanisms of the human brain, and why did they evolve? Brilliant, lucid, and utterly compelling, The Tell-Tale Brain is a path-breaking book from one of the leading neuroscientists.
In this simple yet important book, Noah Rasheta takes profound Buddhist concepts and makes them easy to understand for anyone trying to become a better whatever-they-already-are.
The first book to put the sacred and sensuous bronze statues from India’s Chola dynasty in social context From the ninth through the thirteenth century, the Chola dynasty of southern India produced thousands of statues of Hindu deities, whose physical perfection was meant to reflect spiritual beauty and divine transcendence. During festivals, these bronze sculptures—including Shiva, referred to in a saintly vision as “the thief who stole my heart”—were adorned with jewels and flowers and paraded through towns as active participants in Chola worship. In this richly illustrated book, leading art historian Vidya Dehejia introduces the bronzes within the full context of Chola history, culture, and religion. In doing so, she brings the bronzes and Chola society to life before our very eyes. Dehejia presents the bronzes as material objects that interacted in meaningful ways with the people and practices of their era. Describing the role of the statues in everyday activities, she reveals not only the importance of the bronzes for the empire, but also little-known facets of Chola life. She considers the source of the copper and jewels used for the deities, proposing that the need for such resources may have influenced the Chola empire’s political engagement with Sri Lanka. She also investigates the role of women patrons in bronze commissions and discusses the vast public records, many appearing here in translation for the first time, inscribed on temple walls. From the Cholas’ religious customs to their agriculture, politics, and even food, The Thief Who Stole My Heart offers an expansive and complete immersion in a community still accessible to us through its exquisite sacred art. Published in association with the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
