About the Exhibition
ADDRESS
Christchurch Mansion
Soane Street
Ipswich IP42BE
EXHIBITION DATES
24 November 2018 – 28 April 2019
exhibition hours
Tue – Sat: 10am – 5pm
Sun: 11am – 5pm
Mon: Closed
Kiss & Tell: Rodin and Suffolk Sculpture explored the tale behind the lovers in Auguste Rodin’s iconic life-size marble sculpture The Kiss and the work of literature that inspired it, Dante’s Inferno from The Divine Comedy. This monumental artwork, on loan from the Tate, is a significant piece in the history of sculpture.
The exhibition took you on a journey to uncover one of the most enduring themes in art – the human figure.
ADULTEROUS LOVERS
The tragic tale of the adulterous lovers was explored through an illustrated edition of The Divine Comedy and a line-engraving depicting their plight by Romantic poet William Blake.
SCULPTURE
Several of Rodin’s sculptures on loan from the Tate and East Anglian museums and galleries were displayed in this major exhibition, including portrait sculptures of French novelist Honoré de Balzac and two more of Rodin’s sculptures inspired by movement and dance. Many unseen sculptures from the Ipswich collection were also displayed alongside Rodin’s work.
THE BODY
Visitors got the chance to discover depictions of the body in its natural state and in movement, through sculptures and life drawings from the Ipswich collection, including works by Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Thomas Woolner, Ellen Mary Rope, Henry Moore, Maggi Hambling and Elisabeth Frink. On display together for the first time were life drawings by John Constable, while artefacts from our World Cultures collection showed how bodies have been depicted across the world.
AUGUSTE RODIN
A French sculptor born in Paris in 1840. Relatively unknown at first, his reputation grew and he became a significant sculptor of the era, and is considered by many to be the originator of modern sculpture.
RODIN’S WORKS OF ART
Among his most famous works are ‘The Age of Bronze’, The Kiss’, ‘The Thinker’ and ‘The Burghers of Calais’. ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Thinker’ both originate from ‘The Gates of Hell’, a monumental piece commissioned to be the entrance for a Decorative Arts Museum, which was never built. Rodin took many of the figures included in ‘The Gates of Hell’ and made them into works of art of their own.
The iconic ‘The Kiss’ was included in this exhibition, along with a bronze maquette of Pierre De Wissant, one of the figures from ‘The Burghers of Calais’.
CHRISTCHURCH MANSION
Situated in the stunning surroundings of Christchurch Park, this Tudor mansion boasts 500 years of history and is one of Suffolk’s most treasured buildings. The Mansion was built on the site of the Holy Trinity Priory in the 16th Century and passed through many hands over the years.
In 1894 Felix Cobbold presented it to the town, and you now have the opportunity to explore this magnificent building.
Christchurch Mansion is part of Ipswich Museums, which also looks after Ipswich Museum and Ipswich Art Gallery.
Acknowledgements
Arts Council
Art Fund
Tate
Fitzwilliam
Red House
M F Frames
Quay Place
Unscene Suffolk
DanceEast
Norfolk Museums Service
East Anglian Traditional Art Centre
Friends of Ipswich Museums
With special thanks to Tate, Norfolk Museums Service, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Red House Museum, East Anglia Art Fund and Day Collection for loaning items for display.
Visiting the Exhibition
ADDRESS
Christchurch Mansion
Soane Street
Ipswich IP42BE
DATES
24 November 2018 - 28 April 2019
exhibition hours
Tue - Sat: 10am - 5pm
Sun: 11am - 5pm
Mon: Closed
Christchurch Mansion
Christchurch Mansion
Visiting the Exhibition
ADDRESS
Christchurch Mansion
Soane Street
Ipswich IP42BE
DATES
24 November 2018 - 28 April 2019
exhibition hours
Tue - Sat: 10am - 4pm
Sun: 11am - 4pm
