Rodin: A Biography
About this ebook
“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
About the author
Born in Berlin, Frederic Volker Grunfeld (1929-1987) and his family fled the Nazis in 1938 to settle in Queens, New York. After graduating from the University of Chicago in 1949, Grunfeld was a classical music broadcaster for WQXR, wrote book reviews for theNew York Times and worked in the record industry in New York City. He moved to Deia, Mallorca in 1961, was cultural correspondent in Europe for The Reporter, and roving editor for Horizon. He also worked for other publications includingConnoisseur, Queen
