Auguste Rodin, Nijinsky, 1912. Musée Rodin
Drawing from her exciting new book Rodin’s Dancers, this ARTscapades talk by author Juliet Bellow investigates the relationship between Auguste Rodin’s sculpture of Vaslav Nijinsky and Vaslav Nijinsky’s ballet Afternoon of a Faun, both created in 1912. It considers what motivated Nijinsky to create a choreographic work that looked sculptural, and to seek out Rodin as a spokesperson for the ballet; conversely, it explores what Rodin’s sculpture says about how the sculptor perceived Nijinsky’s dance and its implications for his own artistic and gendered identity.
Set against the culture wars raging in early Third Republic France, the story of these two men’s elective affiliation with one another raises new questions about the age-old equation of male virility with creative genius.
Rodin's Dancers by Juliet Bellow is published by Yale University Press, London (10 June 2025). Talk ticket holders will receive a discount code to use when ordering the book via their website.
This event will be recorded. Ticket holders are emailed a link to view the recording afterwards which is available for one month. Proceeds from ARTscapades ticket sales benefit museums, galleries and other arts-based organisations and projects.
This is an online event hosted on Zoom which can be watched live with Q&A, or on-demand for one month afterwards. You will receive your link to access the event in your email confirmation and the on-demand link after the event ends.