The Kiss by Auguste Rodin, Bronze sculpture in Tuileries Garden, France
The Kiss is a bronze sculpture in the Tuileries Garden depicting two figures intertwined in an embrace. The work demonstrates Rodin's skill in handling bronze and the way he captured form and human connection.
Rodin created the original version of this sculpture as part of his major project The Gates of Hell, which depicted scenes from Dante's Inferno. The work was later separated from that project, and the government commissioned a bronze version to make it available to the public.
Rodin first modelled the pair for The Gates of Hell, then chose to show them before the kiss, bodies joined on a rock. The title was given later, when the marble was exhibited in 1887. Visitors often read the work as a celebration of love, though its origin lies in Dante's tale of Paolo and Francesca, killed for adultery.
The sculpture is located outdoors in the Tuileries Garden and is freely accessible to anyone visiting the grounds. The area is flat and easy to navigate, with access for people with varying mobility needs.
The Kiss was originally titled Francesca da Rimini, after the character from Dante's Inferno. Rodin later renamed it because the embrace seemed too tender for a depiction of damnation. The sculpture was first exhibited in 1887 at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris.
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