The Story Of ‘The Kiss’ ( Le Baiser)
By Auguste Rodin

The Kiss

Auguste Rodin found inspiration for the world-renowned sculpture of THE KISS from his earlier work THE GATES OF HELL.

This extraordinary piece of sculptural work depicting  scenes from Dante’s Inferno, is made up of individual
panels, comprising several themes, some of which Rodin later reproduced as individual works
– the two most famous being ‘The Thinker’ – in bronze – and ‘The Kiss’ – in marble.

‘The Kiss’, based on 2 characters from Dante’s Inferno, a story of forbidden love, shows the young lovers, Francesca da Rimini,
and Paolo Malatesta, about to kiss. Their illicit love affair was inspired by a shared love of the romance
between Lancelot and Guinevere, outlined in the book which Paolo is holding in the sculpture.

However, their kiss was interrupted by the arrival of Paolo’s elder brother, who just happened to be the husband of Francesca.
In a fit of jealousy, Francesca’s husband had the two lovers killed.

Knowing the background of the story before viewing the sculpture, brings a charge of enlightenment to the
viewing process. And that is what gives the power and eroticism to this particular sculpture.

The original sculpture was commissioned by the French Government, and this is the one which now sits in the Rodin Museum in Paris.

There is another version of The Kiss in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek – an art Museum in Copenhagen.
The version in the British Museum Rodin Exhibition* was commissioned by an Edward Perry Warren, an American
collector living in England, and was subsequently acquired by the Tate in 1952.
When originally displayed, these sculptures courted a certain amount of adverse publicity and were often covered up by
tarpaulins or hidden from the general public in stables, only to be seen by special application.
Now of course, The Kiss is a world famous icon, and serves to demonstrate the extraordinary vision and talent of the sculptor, Auguste Rodin.