National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: A Review

Hailed as Japan's only national institution devoted to Western art, the National Museum of Western Art houses the extensive Matsukata Collection that consists heavily of Impressionist-era paintings as well as Rodin’s sculptures that were previously in the storage of the French government. In this article, I explore the works of French Artist Auguste Rodin, which are kept in the Museum’s permanent collection.

The Main Building designed by Le Corbusier in 1959, now inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under ‘The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement’ (Image from https://archeyes.com/national-museum-western-art-tokyo-le-corbusier/)

Auguste Rodin’s 'The Gates of Hell' during the day (Image taken at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo)

One of the works that stood out from the rest of the collection was Rodin’s bronze sculpture The Gates of Hell. Placed in the exterior courtyard of the Main Building along with Rodin’s other famous sculptures, The Gates of Hell stand at 6 metres tall and 4 metres wide, with 180 figures that range from 15 centimeters to more than one metre. Inspired by the Inferno in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, the sculpture was first commissioned by the Directorate of Fine Arts in 1880. The artist edited the sculpture for 37 years until his death in 1917, creating, altering, adding and removing over 200 figures in the process. Even before its commission, Rodin had a strong affinity for Dante’s body of work, developing sketches of Dante’s characters based on the Inferno. Many casts of the sculpture were made, with Tokyo being one of six locations which it is exhibited, including Shizuoka, Zürich, Paris, Philadelphia and Stanford University.

"For a whole year I lived with Dante, with him alone, drawing the eight circles of his inferno. [...] At the end of this year, I realized that while my drawings rendered my vision of Dante, they had become too remote from reality. So I started all over again, working from nature, with my models."

-Rodin, in an article for Le Matin, 19th March, 1900

In Fisher’s The Art of Seeing (2011), he writes that Rodin initially conceived that people would walk towards his sculpture, and be overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the massive gates. This resonated with how Dante describes the vast, looming doors in Inferno. Noticeably, Rodin was inspired by the inscribed warning over the entrance of the gates ‘Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate", which translates to "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here". In addition, Rodin was also inspired by Early-Renaissance sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise at the Baptistery of St. John in Florence, Italy – a pair of bronze doors depicting figures from the Old Testament. Rodin also employed a combination of high and low relief, which were highly in style during the construction of medieval cathedrals. He took this technique a step further by incorporating independent free-standing statues in The Gates of Hell.

Furthermore, The Gates of Hell also showcased many of Rodin’s individual sculptures, with some even displayed in this Museum. The Gates of Hell was the first work Rodin created to depict these figures, which eventually became very famous works of their own.

1. Le Penseur (The Thinker): Perhaps Rodin’s most outstanding work, The Thinker has been interpreted very differently by critics and viewers alike. I like to believe it represents Dante looking down at the widespread suffering in the Inferno.

   
   

   

   (Image taken at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo)

2. Le Baiser (The Kiss): Depicting Paolo and Francesca da Rimini, Rodin created the sculpture to juxtapose their initial joy against their eternal damnation. However, it was eventually removed from the final iteration of the cast of The Gates of Hell since Rodin believed it to be too joyful.

(Image taken at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo)

3. Adam et Eve: Flanking the left and right of The Gates of Hell are Adam and Eve. Rodin initially requested additional funds for these two sculptures, which would be displayed alongside the massive gates.

(Image taken at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo)

4. Fugit Amor (Fleeting Love): Another pair of lovers that represent Paolo and Francesca. The male is also known as The Prodigal.

(Image taken at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo)

5. Je suis belle (I am beautiful): A set of figures cast in 1882, which are also positioned at the extreme right of the gates.

(Image taken at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo)

6. Meditation: positioned on the rightmost section of the tympanum (the rectangular decoration over the gates), it can be seen enlarged in this sculpture cast in 1896.

(Image taken at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo)

This work really spoke to me, both in terms of its backstory as well as its technical prowess. Having just studied John Ciardi’s translation of the Inferno in class, I found Rodin’s masterpiece to embody many characters and scenes from Dante’s nine circles of Hell such as Paolo and Francesca da Rimini, as well as references to the fourth circle of Avarice and Prodigality. The oxidised state of the bronze further gives it psychological weight, with the tones of maroon and burnt umber seemingly absorbing the surrounding light and shrinking the size of the viewer, bearing down on the viewer with its vastness. The method of its display further adds to its narrative, with viewers being prevented from coming with 3 meters of the work. To me, this highlighted the irreversible nature of entering Hell, which Dante the pilgrim was only able to achieve by his guide and Master Virgil. The work also appears very different in broad daylight and at night. During the day, the contrast between light and dark is not as saturated, allowing the viewer to fully take in all 180 characters and clearly see the story that is being told. At night, when strong lamps are shone on the sculpture from either side, eerie shadows are cast on the sculpture, distorting the actions of its characters and leaving some places devoid of light. This adds a lot of physical depth to the work, rendering the work to seem organic and active.

Auguste Rodin’s 'The Gates of Hell' at night (Image taken at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo)

In addition to an elaborate display of Rodin’s sculptures, the Museum had a diverse selection of works from artists of various movements, from Realist Daumier to Impressionist Renoir, Cubist Picasso, Dadaist Miró and Abstract-Expressionist Pollock, the Museum's collection can surely be said to be one for the ages. Alongside very economical pricing which includes free entry for children, the Museum succeeds in being an accessible and astounding institution for education and inspiration.