Happy Valentine’s Day! Today’s virtual activities include close examination of two sculptures by Auguste Rodin, storytime in the galleries and making Valentine cards with homemade stamps.
Auguste Rodin, Jeune mère à la grotte, c. 1885, carved marble. Collection of the Kasser Mochary Art Foundation
As we celebrate love on this Valentine’s Day, the museum has found some inspiration in two selections from the Kasser Mochary Art Foundation, currently on view in the Mary Jo Brown Gallery on the lower level of the museum. Jeune mère à la grotte (Young mother in the grotto) and L’Éternelle Printemps (chef modele) (The Eternal Spring) were created by Auguste Rodin, a notable French sculptor in the late 1800s.
In looking at these two works, what do you see? How does Rodin communicate the relationship between the two figures in each sculpture? Can you relate to the feelings they seem to be experiencing? Why or why not?
Rodin’s popularity is ascribed to his emotion-laden representations of ordinary people. Notice how the lines of the figures’ bodies and the overall form of each sculpture communicate different types of love: the nurturing protection of a parent compared with the grand passion and excitement of romance. Check out these and other inspiring representations of love the next time you visit TMA!
Auguste Rodin, L’Éternelle Printemps (chef modele), 1898, cast bronze. Collection of the Kasser Mochary Art Foundation
Virtual Storytime
Morgan Wells, TMA’s curator of education, has a book for you about love. Watch Morgan read How Do I Love Thee? by Jennifer Adams & Christopher Silas Neal. Video recorded in the Goodman Pavilion at TMA where the exhibition Tense and Release: Art and Mood from the TMA Permanent Collection is on view.
Make a Valentine Card with Homemade Stamps
Make your own Valentine cards using stamps you create at home. Once your stamps are made you can quickly create multiple cards for all of the people you love, layering stamps and mixing custom colors to suit each recipient.
You’ll need:
- Paper (white paper, construction paper, cardstock, etc.) for the card base
- EVA craft foam sheet
- Scrap cardboard for stamp backs
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Paint
- Paintbrush or foam brush
Second SundAZe Family Day @TMA is presented by The Stonewall Foundation.
