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And such was the invulnerable beauty of her body

Auguste Rodin, And such was the invulnerable beauty of her body, 1902, 32.2 x 25.0 cm,lithograph, collected National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

And such was the invulnerable beauty of her body is one of the illustrations in Octave Mirbeau's novel The Torture Garden (1899). This artwork is a painting by French artists Auguste Rodin, painted ca.1902, collected in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. The lithograph printed in coloured ink measures 32.2 by 25.0 centimetres. It is signed ‘Auguste Rodin’ on the lower left.

Background 

In the history of western art, the woman’s body has long been one of the passionate and unfading themes of the artist’s depiction. The mainstream aesthetic of the female body is closely related to the cultural context and social environment. Women always play an inferior role in society, subordinate to men, thus female interpretation is established on a patriarchal cultural background. Instead of independent, dynamic and diverse individuals, all the women are similar feminine symbols in the eyes of these male artists. This docility-control relationship further leads to the inflation and popularity of male aesthetic—a series of principles of art, based on the male hegemonistic discourse. This trend, with the catalysis of mass media in the early 20th century, is rapidly swept the whole society and accepted as the mainstream aesthetic.

For centuries,  the theme of sexual violence against women has become quite prominent in Western art. Yael Even states that "making women obey sexual behaviour" is an essential code for "homosocialization" of the male which can be seen as politically dominant to an individual. Given the dominant social status and power of males, the interpretation of the female body during, this time is symbolic and monotonous, catering for man’s needs. Margaret Carroll also mentions that this is the identity of the aristocratic rulers to gods and men who can transcend the law and have absolute power. It had been maintained in western society until the rise of feminism after World War II.

Description

And such was the invulnerable beauty of her body depicts a kneeling naked woman, with hands folded behind her back and head on her raised right arm. This series of paintings are attributed to Auguste Clot and Auguste Rodin, which is the darkly humorous insinuation of patriarchal culture and the hypocritical social norms and power-based social roles behind it.

Although this illustration is abstract, it is not difficult for the audience to perceive a delicate and repression sense of the subject. Through the distorted posture and complaint form, the artist further strengthens this feeling. While there is no man showing on this painting, it seems that this woman is under the man’s gaze, completely controlled by men. This, ironically, is in contrast to the title of this painting—" the invulnerable beauty of her body”.

Artists

Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is a French sculptor. His art was inspired by Michelangelo's artworks in Italy, which determines the realism method of his artwork creation. Rodin's magnum opus celebrated individual character and physicality through a variety of painting techniques to depict a vivid artistic performance. Besides, he also painted numerous illustrations, copper paintings and sketches.

Octave Mirbeau

Octave Mirbeau (1848-1917) is a French journalist, art critic, novelist and playwright. He has close friendships with Claude Monet and Auguste Rodin. Mirbeau engaged in literary creation for most of his life in Normandy, France, and published approximately 1,200 influential novels and short articles. His representative works include autobiographical novels Calvary (1886), Abbé Jules (1888) and Sebastien Roch (1890), and critical novels Diary of a Chambermaid (1900), The Torture Garden (1899) and In the Sky (1989). The Torture Garden (1899) is the pinnacle of his creation, exerted significant influence on Western literature in the 19^th century.

Painter and Publisher

Auguste Clot

Auguste Clot (1858-1936) is a French printer and chromolithographer in Paris. He is the main printer of the prints commissioned and edited, in the form of albums, by Ambroise Vollard from 1895.

Ambroise Vollard

Ambroise Vollard (1866-1939) is a French art dealer, gallery owners, editors, writers and publisher, who has played an essential role in French contemporary art in the early 20th century. He had been providing support for numerous artists' exposure rate and emotional encouragement in that period, such as Vincent van Gogh. He is also regarded as a passionate art collector.

Provenance (The Torture Garden)

The inspiration for the artwork is Octave Mirbeau's novel The Torture Garden (1899). This novel is one of the most extreme works in the history of literature. On the surface, the book revolves around the theme of torture. As an art form, the secret prison is hidden in the garden centre, and the cruellest torture device is hidden in the fine and elegant countryside and fresh flowers. That depicts the image of a government bureaucrat, makes readers witness to the abyss of corruption. In fact, it is a darkly humorous critique of western patriarchal values and their hypocritical social norms and power-broker politics.