Victor Hugo 1886

Curator: Rodin's marble bust of Victor Hugo, completed in 1886, sits here, almost seeming to breathe within its stone shell. Editor: There's a raw energy to it, isn’t there? The material feels both ancient and incredibly present. You can almost hear Hugo's thoughts swirling around him like a storm. Curator: Absolutely. It's incredible how Rodin manages to convey such profound inner turmoil simply by manipulating the marble. Notice the contrast between the roughly hewn base and the smoother, more refined depiction of Hugo's face? Editor: Yes! And how does he choose to work on the marble; by sculpting or carving? That’s really key here because that material distinction shapes our understanding of labor and intention. Does it suggest Rodin sees Hugo, the intellectual, emerging out of the raw, unformed world? I imagine all the labor gone into procuring, transporting and the use of specialist tools by many workers and craftsmen required for the end result here. Curator: Exactly. And I see that distinction representing Hugo's own process as a writer—wrestling with ideas, shaping them, refining them into powerful narratives. There's also an intentional incompleteness; a sense of Hugo perpetually in the making, still contributing to the world even in this captured, static form. What's especially cool to me is that if you move around this bust you realize how different he seems from multiple perspectives, from severe and commanding to thoughtful and a bit weary. Editor: It’s about the making too; carving and sculpture is a laborious process and Rodin would be employing a number of artisan, whose livelihoods also were influenced by works such as this! Does all this labor somehow end up embodying and lending more 'authority' and authenticity to an artwork? That’s worth mulling over for sure! Curator: I'm really grateful you focused on that for us to consider further. It helps me think not only about the way in which Rodin makes meaning but also reminds me about the sheer, collective effort behind any piece, too. Editor: A powerful thought to leave with! And certainly plenty to take away regarding this most physical and present portrait.