The Reading Public Museum is a museum in Reading, Pennsylvania , located in the 18th Ward, along the Wyomissing Creek . The museum's permanent collection mainly focuses on art , science , and civilization and contains over 280,000 objects. It also has a planetarium (the Neag Planetarium) and a 25-acre (100,000 m) arboretum .
124-537: The Museum was founded in 1904, when the Reading School District board authorized the purchase of exhibits from the Saint Louis World's Fair . These new purchases were added to the private natural history collections of Dr. Levi W. Mengel . The Museum opened its doors to the general public in 1913; that same year, The Museum started collecting works of art. Levi Mengel was The Museum's first director and
248-450: A Belgian soldier, the figure drew inspiration from Michelangelo's Dying Slave , which Rodin had observed at the Louvre . Attempting to combine Michelangelo's mastery of the human form with his own sense of human nature, Rodin studied his model from all angles, at rest and in motion; he mounted a ladder for additional perspective, and made clay models, which he studied by candlelight. The result
372-612: A Maximilian suit of armor-- as well as examples from Japan, the Islamic world, Africa, and the South Pacific. Hundreds of historic North American Indian artworks from the Lenape, Montagnais, Inuit, Blackfoot, Acoma, Hopi, Sioux, Crow, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chippewa, Cochiti, and Mandan peoples are housed at The Reading Public Museum. The Museum also includes Asian collections with artwork from China, Japan, India, and Thailand. The Museum also houses
496-709: A canoe displayed at the Alaska Exhibit. Mary Knight Benson , a noted Pomo basket weaver whose work is curated at the Smithsonian Institution and National Museum of the American Indian , attended to demonstrate her basket making skills which are described as astounding. Athletic events such as a basketball tournament were held to demonstrate the success of the Indian Boarding Schools and other assimilation programs. These efforts were confirmed with
620-423: A free studio, granting Rodin a new level of artistic freedom. Soon, he stopped working at the porcelain factory in 1882; his income came from private commissions. In 1883, Rodin agreed to supervise a course for sculptor Alfred Boucher in his absence, where he met the 18-year-old Camille Claudel . The two formed a passionate but stormy relationship and influenced each other artistically. Claudel inspired Rodin as
744-522: A greater degree than his contemporaries, Rodin believed that an individual's character was revealed by his physical features. Rodin's talent for surface modeling allowed him to let every part of the body speak for the whole. The male's passion in The Thinker is suggested by the grip of his toes on the rock, the rigidness of his back, and the differentiation of his hands. Speaking of The Thinker , Rodin illuminated his aesthetic: "What makes my Thinker think
868-922: A large collection of Pennsylvania German objects that include fraktur, painted furniture--including one of the finest examples of a dower chest by the Black Unicorn Artist, glazed earthenware, and paintings. The Museum also has galleries dedicated to American Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, European Art, the arts of North American Indians, Ancient Civilizations, Arts of the Ancient Americas, and Natural History, among others. The Museum's natural history collections include thousands of specimens of moths and butterflies (many of them collected by Levi W. S. Mengel), as well as other insects, birds, nests, bird eggs, mammals, fossils, minerals, botanical specimens, and animal skins. Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition , informally known as
992-506: A minimum speed limit of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). Nobody won the $ 100,000 grand prize (equivalent to $ 3.39 million in 2023) . The contest witnessed the first public dirigible flight in America. A history of aviation in St. Louis followed, leading to the nickname Flight City. St. Louis' status as an up-and-coming city garnered interest from many reporters and photographers who attended
1116-422: A model for many of his figures, and she was a talented sculptor, assisting him on commissions as well as creating her own works. Her Bust of Rodin was displayed to critical acclaim at the 1892 Salon. Although busy with The Gates of Hell , Rodin won other commissions. He pursued an opportunity to create a historical monument for the town of Calais . For a monument to French author Honoré de Balzac , Rodin
1240-413: A new cathedral for the city. The Palace of Electricity was designed by Messrs. Walker & Kimball , of Omaha, Nebraska. It covered 9 acres (3.6 ha) and cost over $ 400,000 (equivalent to more than $ 13.6 million in 2023). Crowning the great towers were heroic groups of statuary typifying the various attributes of electricity. Florence Hayward , a successful freelance writer in St. Louis in
1364-553: A part-time position as a designer. The offer was in part a gesture of reconciliation, and Rodin accepted. That part of Rodin which appreciated 18th-century tastes was aroused, and he immersed himself in designs for vases and table ornaments that brought the factory renown across Europe. The artistic community appreciated his work in this vein, and Rodin was invited to Paris Salons by such friends as writer Léon Cladel . During his early appearances at these social events, Rodin seemed shy; in his later years, as his fame grew, he displayed
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#17328553566121488-452: A realm where forms existed for their own sake. Notable examples are The Walking Man , Meditation without Arms , and Iris, Messenger of the Gods . Rodin saw suffering and conflict as hallmarks of modern art. "Nothing, really, is more moving than the maddened beast, dying from unfulfilled desire and asking in vain for grace to quell its passion." Charles Baudelaire echoed those themes and
1612-586: A replica of the Maine building was built on the campus. The Keeter Center is named for another school president. The observation tower erected by the American DeForest Wireless Telegraph Company was brought to the Fair when it became a hazard near Niagara Falls and needed to be removed because in the wintertime, ice from the fall's mist would form on the steel structure, and eventually fall onto
1736-589: A single lithograph . Portraiture was an important component of Rodin's oeuvre, helping him to win acceptance and financial independence. His first sculpture was a bust of his father in 1860, and he produced at least 56 portraits between 1877 and his death in 1917. Early subjects included fellow sculptor Jules Dalou (1883) and companion Camille Claudel (1884). Later, with his reputation established, Rodin made busts of prominent contemporaries such as English politician George Wyndham (1905), Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1906), socialist (and former mistress of
1860-541: A small old castle (the Château de l'Islette in the Loire), but Rodin refused to relinquish his ties to Beuret, his loyal companion during the lean years, and mother of his son. During one absence, Rodin wrote to Beuret, "I think of how much you must have loved me to put up with my caprices...I remain, in all tenderness, your Rodin." Claudel and Rodin parted in 1898. Claudel suffered an alleged nervous breakdown several years later and
1984-449: A striving for perfection. He conceived The Gates with the surmoulage controversy still in mind: "...I had made the St. John to refute [the charges of casting from a model], but it only partially succeeded. To prove completely that I could model from life as well as other sculptors, I determined...to make the sculpture on the door of figures smaller than life." Laws of composition gave way to
2108-552: A technical achievement that was lost on most contemporary critics. Rodin chose this contradictory position to, in his words, "display simultaneously...views of an object which in fact can be seen only successively". Despite the title, St. John the Baptist Preaching did not have an obviously religious theme. The model, an Italian peasant who presented himself at Rodin's studio, possessed an idiosyncratic sense of movement that Rodin felt compelled to capture. Rodin thought of John
2232-588: A theme. He first titled the work The Vanquished , in which form the left hand held a spear, but he removed the spear because it obstructed the torso from certain angles. After two more intermediary titles, Rodin settled on The Age of Bronze , suggesting the Bronze Age , and in Rodin's words, "man arising from nature". Later, however, Rodin said that he had had in mind "just a simple piece of sculpture without reference to subject". Its mastery of form, light, and shadow made
2356-430: A time, when it will not seem outre to represent a great novelist as a huge comic mask crowning a bathrobe, but even at the present day this statue impresses one as slang." A modern critic, indeed, claims that Balzac is one of Rodin's masterpieces. The monument had its supporters in Rodin's day; a manifesto defending him was signed by Monet , Debussy , and future Premier Georges Clemenceau , among many others. In
2480-552: A trading post, transportation by water was important. It was becoming even more important that the port be open, but efficient for all visitors. It also needed to show off some of the city's flair and excitement, which is why in many photographs one sees photos of St. Louis' skyscrapers in the background. In addition to a functioning port, the Eads Bridge was constructed, which was considered one of St. Louis' "sights". At 1,627 feet (496 m) long, it connected Missouri and Illinois, and
2604-508: A traditional bust , but instead the head was "broken off" at the neck, the nose was flattened and crooked, and the back of the head was absent, having fallen off the clay model in an accident. The work emphasized texture and the emotional state of the subject; it illustrated the "unfinishedness" that would characterize many of Rodin's later sculptures. The Salon rejected the piece. In Brussels, Rodin created his first full-scale work, The Age of Bronze , having returned from Italy. Modeled after
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#17328553566122728-452: A united, heroic front; rather, each is isolated from his brothers, individually deliberating and struggling with his expected fate. Rodin soon proposed that the monument's high pedestal be eliminated, wanting to move the sculpture to ground level so that viewers could "penetrate to the heart of the subject". At ground level, the figures' positions lead the viewer around the work, and subtly suggest their common movement forward. The committee
2852-702: A week. The Palace of Agriculture alone covered some 20 acres (81,000 m ). Exhibits were staged by approximately 50 foreign nations, the United States government, and 43 of the then-45 US states . These featured industries, cities, private organizations and corporations, theater troupes, and music schools. There were also over 50 concession-type amusements found on "The Pike"; they provided educational and scientific displays, exhibits and imaginary 'travel' to distant lands, history and local boosterism (including Louis Wollbrinck 's "Old St. Louis") and pure entertainment. Over 19 million individuals were in attendance at
2976-543: A young seamstress named Rose Beuret (born in June 1844), with whom he stayed for the rest of his life, with varying commitment. The couple had a son named Auguste-Eugène Beuret (1866–1934). That year, Rodin offered his first sculpture for exhibition and entered the studio of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse , a successful mass producer of objets d'art . Rodin worked as Carrier-Belleuse' chief assistant until 1870, designing roof decorations and staircase and doorway embellishments. With
3100-439: Is some show of reason in the complaint that [Rodin's] conceptions are sometimes unsuited to his medium, and that in such cases they overstrain his vast technical powers". The 1897 plaster model was not cast in bronze until 1964. The Société des Gens des Lettres , a Parisian organization of writers, planned a monument to French novelist Honoré de Balzac immediately after his death in 1850. The society commissioned Rodin to create
3224-471: Is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes." Sculptural fragments to Rodin were autonomous works, and he considered them the essence of his artistic statement. His fragments – perhaps lacking arms, legs, or a head – took sculpture further from its traditional role of portraying likenesses, and into
3348-569: Is the only one of his international exposition buildings in existence today. After the fair, the Pavilion was moved to Bethany College in Lindsborg, where it was used for classroom, library, museum and department facilities for the art department. In 1969, it was moved to the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum where it serves as a venue for community events. The Pavilion was added to
3472-540: Is widely believed to have taken place here. Dubious claims include the hamburger and hot dog (both traditional American and European foods of German origin), peanut butter , iced tea , and cotton candy . Again, popularization is more likely. Dr Pepper and Puffed Wheat cereal were introduced to a national audience. Freeborn Annie Fisher received a gold medal for her beaten biscuits famous in her hometown of Columbia, Missouri . President William Howard Taft enjoyed them on his 1911 visit to Missouri. Though not
3596-520: The BBC series Civilisation , art historian Kenneth Clark praised the monument as "the greatest piece of sculpture of the 19th Century, perhaps, indeed, the greatest since Michelangelo ." Rather than try to convince skeptics of the merit of the monument, Rodin repaid the Société his commission and moved the figure to his garden. After this experience, Rodin did not complete another public commission. Only in 1939
3720-749: The Brussels Stock Exchange . Rodin planned to stay in Belgium a few months, but he spent the next six years outside of France. It was a pivotal time in his life. He had acquired skill and experience as a craftsman, but no one had yet seen his art, which sat in his workshop since he could not afford castings. His relationship with Carrier-Belleuse had deteriorated, but he found other employment in Brussels, displaying some works at salons, and his companion Rose soon joined him there. Having saved enough money to travel, Rodin visited Italy for two months in 1875, where he
3844-608: The Fort Shaw Indian School girls basketball team who were declared "World Champions" after beating every team who faced them in these denominational games. It has been argued that the "overriding purpose of the fair really centered on an effort to promote America's new role as an overseas imperial power", and that "While the juxtaposition of "modern" and "primitive" buttressed assumptions of racial superiority, representations of Native American and Filipino life created an impression of continuity between westward expansion across
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3968-656: The Gates' disordered and untamed depiction of Hell. The figures and groups in this, Rodin's meditation on the condition of man, are physically and morally isolated in their torment. The Gates of Hell comprised 186 figures in its final form. Many of Rodin's best-known sculptures started as designs of figures for this composition, such as The Thinker , The Three Shades , and The Kiss , and were only later presented as separate and independent works. Other well-known works derived from The Gates are Ugolino , Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone , Fugit Amor , She Who Was Once
4092-624: The Japan pavilion advanced the idea of a modern yet exotic culture unfamiliar to the turn-of-the-century Western world, much as it had during the earlier Chicago World's Fair . The Japanese government spent lavishly: $ 400,000, plus $ 50,000 from the Japanese colonial government of Formosa , with an additional $ 250,000 coming from Japanese commercial interests and regional governments; all told, this totaled $ 700,000 (equivalent to $ 23.7 million in 2023) . A 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m ) garden, set on
4216-649: The National Historic Register in 1973. Westinghouse Electric sponsored the Westinghouse Auditorium, where they showed films of Westinghouse factories and products. Some mansions from the Exposition's era survive along Lindell Boulevard at the north border of Forest Park. A number of foods are claimed to have been invented at the fair. The most popular claim is that of the waffle-style ice cream cone . However, its popularization, not invention,
4340-614: The Spanish–American War , the peace treaty granted the United States control over Guam , the Philippines , and Puerto Rico . Puerto Rico had had a quasi-autonomous government as an "overseas province" of Spain, and the Philippines, having declared independence after the 1896–1899 Philippine Revolution , fought US annexation in the 1899–1902 Philippine–American War . These areas controversially became unincorporated territories of
4464-458: The St. Louis World's Fair , was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri , United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $ 15 million (equivalent to $ 509 million in 2023) were used to finance the event. More than 60 countries and 43 of the then-45 American states maintained exhibition spaces at the fair, which was attended by nearly 19.7 million people. Historians generally emphasize
4588-716: The White River by sportsmen who formed the Maine Hunting and Fishing Club. In 1915, when the main building at the College of the Ozarks in Forsyth, Missouri burned, the school relocated to Point Lookout, where the Maine building was renamed the Dobyns Building in honor of a school president. The Dobyns Building burned in 1930 and the college's signature church was built in its place. In 2004,
4712-655: The fax machine . Finsen light – The Finsen light, invented by Niels Ryberg Finsen , treated tuberculosis luposa . Finsen received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1903. This pioneered phototherapy . X-ray machine – The X-ray machine was launched at the 1904 World's Fair. German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays studying electrification of low pressure gas. He X-rayed his wife's hand, capturing her bones and wedding ring to show colleagues. Thomas Edison and assistant Clarence Dally recreated
4836-605: The 1803 land annexation. The exhibition was grand in scale and lengthy in preparation, with an initial $ 5 million committed by the city of St. Louis through the sale of city bonds, authorized by the Missouri state legislature in April 1899. An additional $ 5 million was generated through private donations by interested citizens and businesses from around Missouri, a fundraising target reached in January 1901. The final installment of $ 5 million of
4960-436: The 1880s. The fair's 1,200-acre (4.9 km ; 1.9 sq mi) site, designed by George Kessler , was located at the present-day grounds of Forest Park and on the campus of Washington University , and was the largest fair (in area) to date. There were over 1,500 buildings, connected by some 75 miles (121 km) of roads and walkways. It was said to be impossible to give even a hurried glance at everything in less than
5084-602: The 1900s, was determined to play a role in the World's Fair. She negotiated a position on the otherwise all-male Board of Commissioners. Hayward learned that one of the potential contractors for the fair was not reputable and warned the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company (LPEC). In exchange for this information, she requested an appointment as roving commissioner to Europe. Former Mayor of St. Louis and Governor of Missouri David R. Francis , LPEC president, made
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5208-484: The 1904 World Fair, E. M. Bayliss exhibited these devices on The Pike where approximately ten nurses cared for twenty-four neonates. The entrance fee was 25 cents (equivalent to $ 8.48 in 2023) while the adjoining shop and café offered souvenirs and refreshments. Proceeds totaling $ 181,632 (equivalent to $ 6.16 million in 2023) helped fund Bayliss's project. Inconsistent sanitation killed some babies, so glass walls were installed between them and visitors, shielding
5332-583: The Baptist and carried that association into the title of the work. In 1880, Rodin submitted the sculpture to the Paris Salon. Critics were still mostly dismissive of his work, but the piece finished third in the Salon's sculpture category. Regardless of the immediate receptions of St. John and The Age of Bronze , Rodin had achieved a new degree of fame. Students sought him at his studio, praising his work and scorning
5456-407: The Baptist Preaching , was completed in 1878. Rodin sought to avoid another charge of surmoulage by making the statue larger than life: St. John stands almost 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m). While The Age of Bronze is statically posed, St. John gestures and seems to move toward the viewer. The effect of walking is achieved despite the figure having both feet firmly on the ground –
5580-469: The Biblical Adam , the mythological Prometheus , and Rodin himself have been ascribed to him. Other observers de-emphasize the apparent intellectual theme of The Thinker , stressing the figure's rough physicality and the emotional tension emanating from it. The town of Calais had contemplated a historical monument for decades when Rodin learned of the project. He pursued the commission, interested in
5704-710: The Catholic order of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament as a laybrother . Saint Peter Julian Eymard , founder and head of the congregation, recognized Rodin's talent and sensed his lack of suitability for the order, so he encouraged Rodin to continue with his sculpture. Rodin returned to work as a decorator while taking classes with animal sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye . The teacher's attention to detail and his finely rendered musculature of animals in motion significantly influenced Rodin. In 1864, Rodin began to live with
5828-512: The Chicago World's Fair, buildings and statues deteriorated during the months of the Fair and had to be patched. The Administration Building, designed by Cope & Stewardson , is now Brookings Hall , the defining landmark on the campus of Washington University . A similar building was erected at Northwest Missouri State University founded in 1905 in Maryville, Missouri . The grounds' layout
5952-505: The Department of Electricity for the Fair, wished to educate the public and dispel the misconceptions about electricity which many common people believed. New and updated methods of transportation also showcased at the World's Fair in the Palace of Transportation would come to revolutionize transportation for the modern day. Wireless telephone – The "wireless telephony" unit or " radiophone "
6076-464: The Fair in the Palace of Mines and Metallurgy. Additionally, a plaster reproduction of Alma Mater at Columbia University by Daniel Chester French was displayed at the Grand Sculpture Court of the exhibition. The Missouri State building was the largest of the state buildings, as Missouri was the host state. Though it had sections with marble floors and heating and air conditioning, it
6200-502: The Helmet-Maker's Beautiful Wife , The Falling Man , and The Prodigal Son . The Thinker (originally titled The Poet , after Dante) was to become one of the best-known sculptures in the world. The original was a 27.5-inch (700 mm) high bronze piece created between 1879 and 1889, designed for the Gates ' lintel , from which the figure would gaze down upon Hell. While The Thinker most obviously characterizes Dante, aspects of
6324-405: The Paris Salon, and criticism likened it to "a statue of a sleepwalker" and called it "an astonishingly accurate copy of a low type". Others rallied to defend the piece and Rodin's integrity. The government minister Turquet admired the piece, and The Age of Bronze was purchased by the state for 2,200 francs – what it had cost Rodin to have it cast in bronze. A second male nude, St. John
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#17328553566126448-550: The Philippine reservation, was a school which was actively teaching Igorot students. At least two Moros were photographed while praying at the fair. The Philippine reservation at the exposition cost $ 1.1 million (equivalent to $ 37.3 million in 2023) to create and operate. The people had been trafficked under harsh conditions, and many did not survive. Burial plots in two St. Louis cemeteries were prepared in advance. However, traditional burial practices were not allowed. Some of
6572-458: The Prince of Wales who became King Edward VII) Countess of Warwick (1908), Austrian composer Gustav Mahler (1909), former Argentine president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and French statesman Georges Clemenceau (1911). His undated drawing Study of a Woman Nude, Standing, Arms Raised, Hands Crossed Above Head is one of the works seized in 2012 from the collection of Cornelius Gurlitt . Rodin
6696-670: The United States in 1899, and people were brought from these territories to be on "display" at the 1904 fair. The fair displayed 1,102 Filipinos , 700 of them Philippine Scouts and Philippine Constabulary , used for controlling conflict among Filipinos and between Filipinos and fair organizers. Displays included the Apache of the American Southwest and the Igorots of the Philippines, both of which peoples were noted as "primitive". Within
6820-580: The Vatican. These items were all to be shown in exhibits at the fair. Pleased with her success in Europe, Francis put her in charge of historical exhibits in the anthropology division, which had originally been assigned to Pierre Chouteau III. Despite being the only woman on the Board of Commissioners, creating successful anthropological exhibits, publicizing the fair, and acquiring significant exhibit items, Hayward's role in
6944-400: The World's Fair and found its citizens constantly on the "go" and the streets "crowded with activity". One observer remarked that, at this time, St. Louis had more energy in its streets than any other northern city did. With more and more people interested in the city, St. Louis government and architects were primarily concerned with their ports and access to the city. The city originating as
7068-473: The actual opening of the St. Louis exposition was delayed until April 30, 1904, to allow for full-scale participation by more states and foreign countries. The exposition operated until December 1, 1904. During the year of the fair, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition supplanted the annual St. Louis Exposition of agricultural, trade, and scientific exhibitions which had been held in the city since
7192-496: The appointment and allowed Hayward to travel overseas to promote the fair, especially to women. The fair also had a Board of Lady Managers (BLM) who felt they had jurisdiction over women's activities at the fair and objected to Hayward's appointment without their knowledge. Despite this, Hayward set out for England in 1902. Hayward's most notable contribution to the fair was acquiring gifts Queen Victoria received for her Golden Jubilee and other historical items, including manuscripts from
7316-537: The arrival of the Franco-Prussian War , Rodin was called to serve in the French National Guard, but his service was brief due to his near-sightedness. Decorators' work had dwindled because of the war, yet Rodin needed to support his family, as poverty was a continual difficulty for him until about the age of 30. Carrier-Belleuse soon asked him to join him in Belgium, where they worked on ornamentation for
7440-402: The benefits, incubators containing preterm babies were displayed at the 1897 , 1898 , 1901 , and 1904 World Fairs. These provided immunocompromised neonates a sanitary environment. Each incubator comprised an airtight glass box with a metal frame. Hot forced air thermoregulated the container. Newspapers advertised the incubators with "lives are being preserved by this wonderful method." During
7564-538: The buildings below. It served as a communications platform for Lee DeForest's work in wireless telegraphy and a platform to view the fair. As Niagara Falls was near Buffalo New York, it was also called the Buffalo Tower After the World's Fair, it was moved to Creve Coeur Lake to be part of that park. The Swedish Pavilion is still preserved in Lindsborg, Kansas . Designed by Swedish architect Ferdinand Boberg , it
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#17328553566127688-623: The campus with the park across the street. In 1901, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Corporation selected prominent St. Louis architect Isaac S. Taylor as the Chairman of the Architectural Commission and Director of Works for the fair, supervising the overall design and construction. Taylor quickly appointed Emmanuel Louis Masqueray to be his Chief of Design. In the position for three years, Masqueray designed
7812-536: The centerpiece of one of the many German exhibits. Wanamaker's became a Lord & Taylor store and more recently, a Macy's store. Completed in 1913, the Jefferson Memorial building was built near the main entrance to the Exposition, at Lindell and DeBalivere. It was built with proceeds from the fair, to commemorate Thomas Jefferson , who initiated the Louisiana Purchase, as was the first memorial to
7936-454: The charges of surmoulage . The artistic community knew his name. A commission to create a portal for Paris' planned Museum of Decorative Arts was awarded to Rodin in 1880. Although the museum was never built, Rodin worked throughout his life on The Gates of Hell , a monumental sculptural group depicting scenes from Dante's Inferno in high relief. Often lacking a clear conception of his major works, Rodin compensated with hard work and
8060-568: The collection. The Museum's collection includes Nefrina , a mummy from the Ptolemaic period in ancient Egypt. The ancient collection also contains a notable collection of Greek vases (including the Herakles Vase attributed to the Alkmene Painter), and Greek and Roman marbles. The Arms and Armor gallery features exceptional European examples from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries--including
8184-519: The commission, the Calais committee was not impressed with Rodin's progress. Rodin indicated his willingness to end the project rather than change his design to meet the committee's conservative expectations, but Calais said to continue. In 1889, The Burghers of Calais was first displayed to general acclaim. It is a bronze sculpture weighing two short tons (1,814 kg), and its figures are 6.6 ft (2.0 m) tall. The six men portrayed do not display
8308-515: The continent and the new overseas empire." Racializing concepts and epithets used domestically were extended to the people of the overseas territories. Ota Benga , a Congolese Pygmy, was featured at the fair. Later he was given the run of the grounds at the Bronx Zoo in New York, then featured in an exhibit on evolution alongside an orangutan in 1906, but public protest ended that. In contrast,
8432-925: The core of the historic American art collection. American modernist works in the permanent collection include those by Milton Avery , Alexander Calder , Robert Gwathmey , Hans Hofmann , Adolph Gottlieb , Robert Motherwell , William Baziotes , Helen Frankenthaler , Jules Olitski , and Louise Nevelson . These join a group of European paintings by Edgar Degas , Charles Francois Daubigny , Julien Dupre , Albert Lebourg , Marià Fortuny , Martin Rico y Ortega , Fritz Thaulow , Oswald Aachenbach , and Anton Mauve , among others, which are in The Museum's holdings. Sculptures by Aguste Rodin , Edward McCartan , Harriett Whitney Frishmuth , Cyrus Dallin , James Earl Fraser , Henry Moore , Harry Bertoia , George Segal , Nancy Graves , Frank Stella , and Deborah Butterfield are also part of
8556-581: The debut of as many foods as claimed, the fair offered what was essentially America's first food court. Visitors sampled a variety of fast foods, dined in dozens of restaurants, and strolled through the mile-long pike. As one historian said of the fair, "one could breakfast in France, take a mid-morning snack in the Philippines, lunch in Italy, and dine in Japan." The fair inspired the song " Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis ", which
8680-418: The distance with deeply gouged features. Rodin's intent had been to show Balzac at the moment of conceiving a work – to express courage, labor, and struggle. When Monument to Balzac was exhibited in 1898, the negative reaction was not surprising. The Société rejected the work, and the press ran parodies . Criticizing the work, Morey (1918) reflected, "there may come a time, and doubtless will come
8804-424: The era did much to influence permanent new buildings and master plans of major cities. In 1904, St. Louis hosted a world's fair to celebrate the centennial of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase . The idea for such a commemorative event seems to have emerged early in 1898, with Kansas City and St. Louis initially presented as potential hosts for a fair based on their central location within the territory encompassed by
8928-491: The exposition's $ 15 million capitalization came in the form of earmarked funds that were part of a congressional appropriations bill passed at the end of May 1900. The fundraising mission was aided by the active support of President of the United States William McKinley , which was won by organizers in a February 1899 White House visit. While initially conceived as a centennial celebration to be held in 1903,
9052-407: The fair was not acknowledged. When Francis published a history of the fair in 1913, he did not mention Hayward's contributions and she never forgave the slight. Expositions are the timekeepers of progress. They record the world's advancement. They stimulate the energy, enterprise, and intellect of the people; and quicken human genius. They go into the home. They broaden and brighten the daily life of
9176-517: The fair. Festival Hall, designed by Cass Gilbert and used for large-scale musical pageants, contained the largest organ in the world at the time, built by the Los Angeles Art Organ Company (which went bankrupt as a result). The great organ was debuted by the fair's official organist, Charles Henry Galloway . Though the opening concert was scheduled for the first day of the fair, complications related to its construction resulted in
9300-542: The fair. Aspects that attracted visitors included the buildings and architecture, new foods, popular music, and exotic people on display. American culture was showcased at the fair especially regarding innovations in communication, medicine, and transportation. George Kessler, who designed many urban parks in Texas and the Midwest, created the master design for the Fair. A popular myth says that Frederick Law Olmsted , who had died
9424-667: The fair. A Jain temple carved out of teak stood within the Indian Pavilion near the Ferris Wheel . It was dismantled after the exhibition and was reconstructed in Las Vegas at the Castaways hotel. It has recently been reassembled and is now on display at the Jain Center of Southern California at Los Angeles. Birmingham, Alabama 's iconic cast iron Vulcan statue was first exhibited at
9548-538: The following Fair buildings: Palace of Agriculture, the Cascades and Colonnades, Palace of Forestry, Fish, and Game, Palace of Horticulture and Palace of Transportation, all of which were widely emulated in civic projects across the United States as part of the City Beautiful movement . Masqueray resigned shortly after the Fair opened in 1904, having been invited by Archbishop John Ireland of St. Paul, Minnesota to design
9672-739: The hillside south of the Machinery Hall and Engine House, featured a replica of Kyoto's famous Kinkakuji , showing Japan's ancient sophistication, and a Formosa Mansion and Tea House, showing her modern colonial efforts. A second exhibition, "Fair Japan on the 'Pike'," organized by Kushibiki and Arai , welcomed the public through a large Niōmon -style gate into a realm of geisha-staffed exotic Japanese consumerism. Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin ( / r oʊ ˈ d æ n / ; French: [fʁɑ̃swa oɡyst ʁəne ʁɔdɛ̃] ; 12 November 1840 – 17 November 1917)
9796-403: The human body with naturalism, and his sculptures celebrate individual character and physicality. Although Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, he refused to change his style, and his continued output brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community. From the unexpected naturalism of Rodin's first major figure – inspired by his 1875 trip to Italy – to
9920-533: The infants. These developed into "isolettes" in modern neonatal intensive care units . Electric streetcar – North American street railways from the early 19th century were being introduced to electric street railcars . An electric streetcar on a 1,400 feet (430 m) track demonstrated its speed, acceleration, and braking outside the Palace of Electricity. Many downtown trams today are electric. Personal automobile – The Palace of Transportation displayed automobiles and motor cars. The private automobile
10044-543: The judges' Neoclassical tastes, while Rodin had been schooled in light, 18th-century sculpture. He left the Petite École in 1857 and earned a living as a craftsman and ornamenter for most of the next two decades, producing decorative objects and architectural embellishments. Rodin's sister Maria, two years his senior, died of peritonitis in a convent in 1862, and Rodin was anguished with guilt because he had introduced her to an unfaithful suitor. He turned away from art and joined
10168-414: The king's camp, carrying keys to the town's gates and citadel. Rodin began the project in 1884, inspired by the chronicles of the siege by Jean Froissart . Though the town envisioned an allegorical , heroic piece centered on Eustache de Saint-Pierre, the eldest of the six men, Rodin conceived the sculpture as a study in the varied and complex emotions under which all six men were laboring. One year into
10292-451: The last year of both their lives. His sculptures suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades his legacy solidified. Rodin remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside the visual arts community. Rodin was born in 1840 into a working-class family in Paris, the second child of Marie Cheffer and Jean-Baptiste Rodin, who was a police department clerk. He
10416-510: The loquaciousness and temperament for which he is better known. French statesman Leon Gambetta expressed a desire to meet Rodin, and the sculptor impressed him when they met at a salon. Gambetta spoke of Rodin in turn to several government ministers, likely including Edmund Turquet , the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Fine Arts, whom Rodin eventually met. Rodin's relationship with Turquet
10540-429: The machine. Dally failed to test another X-ray machine at the 1901 World's Fair after President McKinley was assassinated . A perfected X-ray machine was successfully exhibited at the 1904 World's Fair. X-rays are now commonplace in hospitals and airports. Infant incubator – Although infant incubators were invented in the year 1888 by Drs. Alan M. Thomas and William Champion, adoption was not immediate. To advertise
10664-456: The medieval motif and patriotic theme. The mayor of Calais was tempted to hire Rodin on the spot upon visiting his studio, and soon the memorial was approved, with Rodin as its architect. It would commemorate the six townspeople of Calais who offered their lives to save their fellow citizens. During the Hundred Years' War , the army of King Edward III besieged Calais, and Edward ordered that
10788-429: The memorial in 1891, and Rodin spent years developing the concept for his sculpture. Challenged in finding an appropriate representation of Balzac given the author's rotund physique, Rodin produced many studies: portraits, full-length figures in the nude, wearing a frock coat , or in a robe – a replica of which Rodin had requested. The realized sculpture displays Balzac cloaked in the drapery, looking forcefully into
10912-512: The next ten years. As their relationship came to a close, despite his genuine feeling for her, Rodin eventually resorted to the use of concièrges and secretaries to keep her at a distance. In 1864, Rodin submitted his first sculpture for exhibition, The Man with the Broken Nose , to the Paris Salon . The subject was an elderly neighborhood street porter. The unconventional bronze piece was not
11036-568: The opening concert being postponed until June 9. After the fair, the organ was placed into storage, and eventually purchased by John Wanamaker for his new Wanamaker's store in Philadelphia where it was tripled in size and became known as the Wanamaker Organ . The famous Bronze Eagle in the Wanamaker Store also came from the Fair. It features hundreds of hand-forged bronze feathers and was
11160-519: The people to be exhibited died en route or at the fair and their bodies were immediately removed. Funeral rites had to be conducted without the bodies in front of an oblivious public audience of fair attendees. Organizers choreographed ethnographic displays, having customs which marked special occasions restaged day after day. Similarly, members of the Southeast Alaskan Tlingit tribe accompanied fourteen totem poles , two Native houses, and
11284-450: The people. They open mighty storehouses of information to the student. Many of the inventions displayed were precursors to items which have become an integral part of today's culture. Novel applications of electricity and light waves for communication and medical use were displayed in the Palace of Electricity. According to an article he wrote for Harper's Weekly, W. E. Goldsborough, the Chief of
11408-453: The permanent collection at RPM. More than 12,000 works on paper from illuminated manuscripts , works by Albrecht Dürer , Rembrandt , Francisco Goya , James Abbott McNeill Whistler , through the prints of Andy Warhol , Jim Dine , Chuck Close , and Keith Haring are also housed in the collection. Photographs by Edweard Muybridge , Edward Steichen , Alfred Stieglitz , Ansel Adams , Berenice Abbott , and Dorthea Lange are represented in
11532-399: The prominence of the themes of race and imperialism , and the fair's long-lasting impact on intellectuals in the fields of history , architecture , and anthropology . From the point of view of the memory of the average person who attended the fair, it primarily promoted entertainment, consumer goods, and popular culture. The monumental Greco-Roman architecture of this and other fairs of
11656-451: The style of Carpeaux . In competitions for commissions he submitted models of Denis Diderot , Jean-Jacques Rousseau , and Lazare Carnot , all to no avail. On his own time, he worked on studies leading to the creation of his next important work, St. John the Baptist Preaching . In 1880, Carrier-Belleuse – then art director of the Sèvres national porcelain factory – offered Rodin
11780-566: The third President. It became the headquarters of the Missouri History Museum , and stored the Exposition's records and archives when the Louisiana Purchase Exposition company completed its mission. The building is now home to the Missouri History Museum, and the museum was significantly expanded in 2002–3. The State of Maine Building , which was a rustic cabin, was transported to Point Lookout, Missouri where it overlooked
11904-404: The town's population be killed en masse . He agreed to spare them if six of the principal citizens would come to him prepared to die, bareheaded and barefooted and with ropes around their necks. When they came, he ordered that they be executed, but pardoned them when his queen, Philippa of Hainault , begged him to spare their lives. The Burghers of Calais depicts the men as they are leaving for
12028-626: The unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought, his reputation grew, and Rodin became the preeminent French sculptor of his time. By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Rodin's work after his World's Fair exhibit, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. His student, Camille Claudel , became his associate, lover, and creative rival. Rodin's other students included Antoine Bourdelle , Constantin Brâncuși , and Charles Despiau . He married his lifelong companion, Rose Beuret , in
12152-442: The work look so naturalistic that Rodin was accused of surmoulage – having taken a cast from a living model. Rodin vigorously denied the charges, writing to newspapers and having photographs taken of the model to prove how the sculpture differed. He demanded an inquiry and was eventually exonerated by a committee of sculptors. Leaving aside the false charges, the piece polarized critics. It had barely won acceptance for display at
12276-587: The year before the Fair, designed the park and fair grounds. There are several reasons for this confusion. First, Kessler in his twenties had worked briefly for Olmsted as a Central Park gardener. Second, Olmsted was involved with Forest Park in Queens , New York. Third, Olmsted had planned the renovations in 1897 to the Missouri Botanical Garden several blocks to the southeast of the park. Finally, Olmsted's sons advised Washington University on integrating
12400-601: Was Monument to Balzac cast in bronze and placed on the Boulevard du Montparnasse at the intersection with Boulevard Raspail . The popularity of Rodin's most famous sculptures tends to obscure his total creative output. A prolific artist, he created thousands of busts, figures, and sculptural fragments over more than five decades. He painted in oils (especially in his thirties) and in watercolors . The Musée Rodin holds 7,000 of his drawings and prints, in chalk and charcoal , and thirteen vigorous drypoints . He also produced
12524-692: Was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, and deeply pocketed surface in clay . He is known for such sculptures as The Thinker , Monument to Balzac , The Kiss , The Burghers of Calais , and The Gates of Hell . Many of Rodin's most notable sculptures were criticized, as they clashed with predominant figurative sculpture traditions in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic . Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory . He modeled
12648-434: Was a life-size, well-proportioned nude figure, posed unconventionally with his right hand atop his head, and his left arm held out at his side, forearm parallel to the body. In 1877, the work debuted in Brussels and then was shown at the Paris Salon. The statue's apparent lack of a theme was troubling to critics – commemorating neither mythology nor a noble historical event – and it is not clear whether Rodin intended
12772-522: Was a naturalist, less concerned with monumental expression than with character and emotion. Departing with centuries of tradition, he turned away from the idealism of the Greeks, and the decorative beauty of the Baroque and neo-Baroque movements. His sculpture emphasized the individual and the concreteness of flesh, and suggested emotion through detailed, textured surfaces, and the interplay of light and shadow. To
12896-564: Was also in the ever-helpful Thérèse's care. Rodin had essentially abandoned his son for six years, and would have a very limited relationship with him throughout his life. Father and son joined the couple in their flat, with Rose as caretaker. Charges of fakery surrounding The Age of Bronze continued. Rodin increasingly sought soothing female companionship in Paris, and Rose stayed in the background. Rodin earned his living collaborating with more established sculptors on public commissions, primarily memorials and neo-baroque architectural pieces in
13020-577: Was also recreated in Maryville and now is designated as the official Missouri State Arboretum. The Palace of Fine Art, designed by architect Cass Gilbert , featured a grand interior sculpture court based on the Roman Baths of Caracalla . Standing at the top of Art Hill, it now serves as the home of the St. Louis Art Museum . The huge bird cage at the Saint Louis Zoological Park , dates to
13144-521: Was among Rodin's favorite poets. Rodin enjoyed music, especially the opera composer Gluck , and wrote a book about French cathedrals . He owned a work by the as-yet-unrecognized Van Gogh and admired the forgotten El Greco . Instead of copying traditional academic postures, Rodin preferred his models to move naturally around his studio (despite their nakedness). The sculptor often made quick sketches in clay that were later fine-tuned, cast in plaster, and cast in bronze or carved from marble. Rodin's focus
13268-475: Was at Petite École that he met Jules Dalou and Alphonse Legros . In 1857, Rodin submitted a clay model of a companion to the École des Beaux-Arts in an attempt to win entrance; he did not succeed, and two further applications were also denied. Entrance requirements were not particularly high at the Grande École , so the rejections were considerable setbacks. Rodin's inability to gain entrance may have been due to
13392-511: Was chosen in 1891. His execution of both sculptures clashed with traditional tastes and met with varying degrees of disapproval from the organizations that sponsored the commissions. Still, Rodin was gaining support from diverse sources that propelled him toward fame. In 1889, the Paris Salon invited Rodin to be a judge on its artistic jury. Though Rodin's career was on the rise, Claudel and Beuret were becoming increasingly impatient with Rodin's "double life". Claudel and Rodin shared an atelier at
13516-464: Was confined to an institution for 30 years by her family, until her death in 1943, despite numerous attempts by doctors to explain to her mother and brother that she was sane. In 1904, Rodin was introduced to the Welsh artist, Gwen John , who modelled for him and became his lover after being introduced by Hilda Flodin . John had a fervent attachment to Rodin and would write to him thousands of times over
13640-408: Was drawn to the work of Donatello and Michelangelo . Their work had a profound effect on his artistic direction. Rodin said, "It is Michelangelo who has freed me from academic sculpture." Returning to Belgium, he began work on The Age of Bronze , a life-size male figure whose naturalism brought Rodin attention but led to accusations of sculptural cheating – its naturalism and scale
13764-479: Was incensed by the untraditional proposal, but Rodin would not yield. In 1895, Calais succeeded in having Burghers displayed in their preferred form: the work was placed in front of a public garden on a high platform, surrounded by a cast-iron railing. Rodin had wanted it located near the town hall, where it would engage the public. Only after damage during the First World War, subsequent storage, and Rodin's death
13888-437: Was invented by Alexander Graham Bell and installed at the St. Louis World Fair. This radiophone comprised a sound-light transmitter and a light-sound receiver, as an apparatus in the Palace of Electricity transmitted music or speech to a receiver in the courtyard. Visitors heard the transmission when holding the cordless receiver to the ear. It developed into the radio and telephone. Early fax machine – The telautograph
14012-406: Was invented in 1888 by American scientist Elisha Gray , who contested Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone. A person wrote on one end of the telautograph, which electrically communicated with the receiving pen to recreate drawings on paper. In 1900, assistant Foster Ritchie improved the device to display at the 1904 World's Fair and market for the next thirty years. This developed into
14136-458: Was its founding father. Christopher Shearer , a well-known landscape artist was The Museum's first curator of art. Ground was broken at its current location in 1925, and by 1928, the Museum was open to the public in its new Beaux-Art style structure that was designed by William Forbes Smith. In 1998, architect Der Scutt was commissioned to add an atrium entrance to the existing structure. The Arboretum
14260-457: Was largely self-educated, and began to draw at age 10. Between ages 14 and 17, he attended the Petite École , a school specializing in art and mathematics where he studied drawing and painting. His drawing teacher Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran believed in first developing the personality of his students so that they observed with their own eyes and drew from their recollections, and Rodin expressed appreciation for his teacher much later in life. It
14384-433: Was on the handling of clay. George Bernard Shaw sat for a portrait and gave an idea of Rodin's technique: "While he worked, he achieved a number of miracles. At the end of the first fifteen minutes, after having given a simple idea of the human form to the block of clay, he produced by the action of his thumb a bust so living that I would have taken it away with me to relieve the sculptor of any further work." He described
14508-1424: Was planned in the late-1920s by renowned American landscape architect John Nolen . Since 1991, The Museum has been operated by The Foundation for the Reading Public Museum. The Museum's art collection contains works from many cultures but the strengths of the collection include American works of art. Its fine art collection includes more than seven hundred oil paintings by American and international artists. Paintings by Benjamin West , Raphaelle Peale , Thomas Birch , Gilbert Stuart , Thomas Sully , Peter Rothermel , Jacob Eichholtz , Paul Weber , Hermann Herzog , Worthington Whittredge , Frederic Church , Susan Macdowell Eakins , Childe Hassam , William Merritt Chase , John Singer Sargent , John Henry Twachtman , N. C. Wyeth , Edward Redfield , John Fulton Folinsbee , Fern Coppedge , Paulette van Roekens , Walter Elmer Schofield , George Sotter , Daniel Garber , Robert Henri , William Glackens , George Bellows , John French Sloan , Frank Weston Benson , William Paxton , Colin Campbell Cooper , Guy Carleton Wiggins , Abbott Handerson Thayer , Martha Walter , Elihu Vedder , Joseph Stella , Frederick Judd Waugh , Aldro Hibbard , Alfred Henry Maurer , Arthur B. Davies , and Leon Dabo form
14632-526: Was planned to be a temporary structure. However, it burned the night of November 18–19, just eleven days before the Fair was to end. Most interior contents were destroyed, but furniture and much of the Model Library were undamaged. The fair being almost over, the building was not rebuilt. In 1909–10, the current World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park was built on the site of the Missouri building with profits from
14756-432: Was recorded by many artists, including Billy Murray . Both the fair and the song are focal points of the 1944 feature film Meet Me in St. Louis starring Judy Garland , which also inspired a Broadway musical version . Scott Joplin wrote the rag "Cascades" in honor of the elaborate waterfalls in front of Festival Hall. A book entitled Wild Song , by Candy Gourlay , was inspired by the Louisiana Purchase. Following
14880-468: Was revealed here. The automobile display contained 140 models including ones powered by gasoline, steam, and electricity . Inventor Lee de Forest demonstrated a prototype car radio . Four years later, the Ford Motor Company began producing the affordable Ford Model T . Airplane – The 1904 World's Fair hosted the first "Airship Contest". Stationary air balloons demarcated a time trial with
15004-417: Was rewarding. Through Turquet, he won the 1880 commission to create a portal for a planned museum of decorative arts. Rodin dedicated much of the next four decades to his elaborate Gates of Hell , an unfinished portal for a museum that was never built. Many of the portal's figures became sculptures in themselves, including Rodin's most famous, The Thinker and The Kiss . With the museum commission came
15128-589: Was such that critics alleged he had cast the work from a living model. Much of Rodin's later work was explicitly larger or smaller than life, in part to demonstrate the folly of such accusations. Rose Beuret and Rodin returned to Paris in 1877, moving into a small flat on the Left Bank . Misfortune surrounded Rodin: his mother, who had wanted to see her son marry, was dead, and his father was blind and senile, cared for by Rodin's sister-in-law, Aunt Thérèse. Rodin's eleven-year-old son Auguste, possibly developmentally delayed,
15252-514: Was the first large-scale application of steel as a structural material. As with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, all but one of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition's grand, neo-Classical exhibition palaces were temporary structures, designed to last but a year or two. They were built with a material called " staff ," a mixture of plaster of Paris and hemp fibers, on a wood frame. As at
15376-477: Was the sculpture displayed as he had intended. It is one of Rodin's best-known and most acclaimed works. Commissioned to create a monument to French writer Victor Hugo in 1889, Rodin dealt extensively with the subject of artist and muse . Like many of Rodin's public commissions, Monument to Victor Hugo was met with resistance because it did not fit conventional expectations. Commenting on Rodin's monument to Victor Hugo, The Times in 1909 expressed that "there
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