Rodin: The Shape of Genius

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1993. Cloth, xv, 591 pages, illustrations, map; 27 cm. Good+. Firm binding, clean inside copy. Edges lightly soiled. First printing. Dust jacket, with light shelfwear, protected in a mylar cover. OVERSIZE! No priority/international, except by arrangement. "Rodin was the most famous artist in the world at the turn of the twentieth century. Quoting extensively from letters to and from the artist, Ruth Butler captures his voice and those of his contemporaries throughout his long life (1840-1917)." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Foreword, by Jacques Vilain; Map of Paris; PT. 1. 1860-79. 1. A Parisian family in 1860. 2. Maria's vow. 3. Brother Auguste. 4. Independent man. 5. A sculptor's assistant. 6. Brussels and a partnership. 7. Outside the partnership. 8. Michelangelo. 9. The vanquished one. 10. The Paris Salon. 11. The Republic needs monuments; PT. 2. 1880-89. 12. Why was Rodin commissioned to make the doors? 13. Silence and creativity, 1880-81. 14. Genius in a man's face. 15. The women in Rodin's life. 16. The Burghers of Calais, 1884-89. 17. How the doors for the Musee des Arts Decoratifs became The gates of Hell. 18. In the company of a "woman of genius"; PT. 3. 1889-98. 19. Monuments to genius: Bastien-Lepage, Claude Lorrain, and Victor Hugo. 20. More monuments to genius: Balzac, the inauguration of Claude Lorrain, and Baudelaire's tomb. 21. Ateliers and assistants. 22. The passion of Camille Claudel. 23. The Societe des Gens de Lettres. 24. Learning to say: "It is finished" 25. Victory and defeat: the Hugo and Balzac monuments; PT. 4. 1899-1917. 26. Becoming an entrepreneur. 27. Outsider's victory. 28. The home of the sculptor. 29. The favors of Edward's court. 30. Teaching Americans about sculpture. 31. Rodin's reputation in France. 32. Sexual imperatives. 33. A new "wife" and a home in the city. 34. Reckonings. 35. The gift. . 1st. Hardcover. Good/Very Good. 4to.