The Kiss

This work recalls the tragic love of Paolo and Francesca in Dante's Divine Comedy. Its silhouette can be found in the study plaster for The Gates of Hell. The Kiss as an independent sculpture from The Gates, however, represents the universal love, apart from the story of Paolo and Francesca. This couple did not burn in the hell fires of carnal love. Instead Rodin used them to symbolize the triumph of pure passionate love. Rodin commented "Love is the Flower of Life" as he posed a young couple in this pose in his studio to capture a realistic effect. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat . no. 136)