Rodin, Paris, I …. and the dancing girls of Cambodia

 

“An art intends to call for the eagerness and wonders in the observer - a reminder of antiquity, wealth, ideologies and truth of the period. To succeed in its aim, it needs to jolt the individual and evoke sensation to go beyond his familiarity”- and my Cambodian souvenir, indeed reflecting its archaic purpose, successfully sowed seeds in me - the eagerness to visit Paris again and see the original drawings of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

It was 2008. I was busily rummaging the Phnom Penh antique shops for a special Cambodian artifact to bring home with me and, by chance, my eyes caught a glimpse of an antique golden rectangular frame containing sketches of three dancing girls. It intrigued me!

Initially, I was drawn to the frame for its uniqueness of shape and style. But when I came close to the frame and was able to see its inside, I was fascinated by what I saw - the profiles of three Cambodian classical dancing girls! Their images reminded me of the Apsaras; the ancient little sculptures at the famous ancient temples in Angkor Wat, from where I had just returned. I was fascinated by the drawings of the girls’ poses. The artist beautifully represented the technical aspects of the dancers’ body movements, with a few fluid lines. He made the gestures of their fingers resemble the gestures from the legend Ramayana. In Angkor Wat these gestures were engraved in ancient stones more than ten centuries ago. The shop’s sales assistant noticed my impatient expression and he said, they are the reprints of Rodin's famous drawings of Cambodian dancers. You can see the original drawings now in display in the Musee Rodin in Paris.

When I disclosed my ignorance of Rodin to him, he was not a bit disappointed. Instead, he reassured me that most Cambodians also didn't know about Rodin or his dancing girls until, in 2006, the National Museum of Phnom Penh held Rodin’s art exhibition “Rodin and the Cambodian dancers”. He continued with a lot of enthusiasm and shared with me his wisdom about the French artist Auguste Rodin. He said that traditional Cambodian dance is closely linked with Cambodian antiquity. But Rodin’s drawings of dancers have voluminous, flowing, western style outfits– this is because he wanted to give a visual effect of modernity. But to leave the evidence of his original inspiration – “Cambodian dancers”, he dotted their mouth and eyes with pencil. He intentionally omitted the specific facial identities of the dancers so that they have a universal and timeless appeal. Later Rodin re-interpreted them through ballet poses (years later I learnt, Rodin always had this deep fascination for the human anatomy and their natural harmony among a body’s various limbs; he witnessed that balance and harmony in the dancers’ performance in their arms and hands). By highlighting them with watercolor he gave them their finesse. These framed reprints are a rare finding nowadays: in 2006 they only crafted very few of this type of souvenirs here in Cambodia.

His enlightening lecture impressed me a lot and I became more attracted to this art and thought - finally I got a perfect Cambodian souvenir!

*******

I came back from my Cambodia trip back in 2008 and since then, every so often, I would look at my Cambodian souvenir and wonder - about Rodin!

I tell him, this is my second time in Paris, and upon returning after 30 years I am less interested in the usual tourist attractions this time and would rather like to stroll around the ancient streets of Paris. I hope to discover the city’s hi-tech pulse in the backdrop of a city that has evolved in layers of historic heritage and - I would also like to retrace sculptor Rodin in his own city.

After hearing me say all these, the hotel concierge looks bemused! He hands me the metro map, in case I change my mind, take a break from my walk and decide to take the metro. I give him back my appreciative smile, leave his lovely smiling face behind and head towards the hotel exit ready to embark on my Paris exploration in my laid-back way on a cold January morning…..

I begin my walk through the avenues and the inner streets of the 16th district that lies between Champs-Elysees and the Seine. Even in winter Paris is enchanting everywhere! The Parisians have their city wonderfully equipped with boulevards, parks, gardens, theaters, museums and art galleries. Its outdoor excellence attracts people and motivates them to spend more time outdoor than indoor. This is deliberate and intentional: to give pleasure to its habitués, to instill ideas and values, and evoke visitors with thoughts.

The monumental boulevard Champs-Elysees, now populated by stylish hotels, car show-rooms shops of luxurious merchandises, dressmakers and lingerers, theaters, cafes and night clubs ….. and in the center of all these, elegant well-dressed lively pedestrians hurriedly walking, some seated on the benches under the bare trees (it is winter)– but the ambience of a fairy land is still there.

The back passages, with tall houses overshadowing the narrow cobblestone streets are clean and gracefully lined - with fine houses, shops, restaurants, bars and cafés. Every now and then the Eiffel Tower pops into view. It appears as if the city has been like this for all-time! I say to myself - the locals don’t notice all these, they are just a backdrop for their daily life! But a tourist like me keenly observes its pleasing facades with large gateways, thorough whose railings I can see small neat courtyards or gardens beautified with fountains, statues, lamp stands and flower stands ….all these giving an appearance of elegant apartments.

In the midst of today’s urban chaos, the streets still have their simplicity. I watch acts of local life, a true residential life: it seems they are a collection of small communities embracing the 21st century in their unique French way. Mom is pushing her baby stroller holding iPhone in another hand, locals carrying their groceries or some walking casually hand-in-hand, a restaurant server taking his small break standing outside and inhaling the fresh air, delivery trucks busy delivering or just parked, and cyclists everywhere. Paris has become enthusiastically bike friendly since 2007 when the city launched its innovative “Bike sharing program”.

I pass grand vistas, fine food stores, cozy bars and restaurants on both sides of the street. I steal and savor the scenes of the natives, through the café and bar windows – some are engrossed in conversations (may be philosophizing about the effects of the internet!), some are just relaxed - enjoying coffee with their friends. Its winter, outdoor café tables are mostly empty - only a few are occupied by some smokers, sitting and puffing their cigarettes, contemplating. Wonderful, sumptuous whiff of bread and baked pastries whacks me as a Parisian opens the patisserie door holding her beloved Baguette. They say, people don’t mind walking a few kilometers just for a fresh loaf of bread! I take part in the Parisian national sport- “window shopping” - they have their shop windows very detailed and colorfully decorated.

While scanning the city, I notice a subtle feminine grace among the wrought iron balconies, their repetitive ornamental carvings and floral touches around the exterior of the buildings; they give a feeling of an effortless merge of the artistic antiquity and the 21st century. It seems Paris needed this never-ending sequence of the same features in every boulevard – the same block of flats, the same dimensions, the same outdoor furniture, lamp standards, fixed benches, bus stops, metro entrances, the same cafes with similar style tables, chairs and menus….

I stop by the Seine and enjoy the skyline of the city architecture and watch the romance along the river. I must say they all look authentic and exquisite.

I stroll through the bridge linking the left bank of Seine with the city “Il de la Cite”. Legend has it that this city was born in the middle of river Seine, centuries before Christ. The Romans conquered the local fishing tribe and set up a camp. In the 12th century they started building the most famous Gothic architecture “Notre Dame Cathedral” on the ruins and it took some 300 years for the construction to be completed.

I am lost in the quiet, narrow Rues Chanoinesse; a neighborhood not invaded by the Notre Dame Cathedral visitors. Its quietness is mystifying and the streets still have the medieval romantic character. I am wandering, exploring and enjoying the beautifully restored medieval buildings. There, as I stumble upon the building Au Vieux Paris d’Arcole I am blown away by its antiquity! I peep through its teensy windows: the low ceilings and dilapidated walls, furniture probably centuries old and a delightful French waiter in a bow tie and vest, speedily making his way around the room and inside - their clients, certainly not like tourists.

It is cold, I keep my gloved hands tucked in my pockets, too lazy to get the map out of my shoulder bag, and am on total loose…. I appreciate the friendly French people - no sign of French irritation at foreigners! Even with my zero French I have no problem (in some instances my google translator is my savior), I am strolling solo through the intricate narrow streets and must confess it is real fun!

Serendipitously, I land in the midst of myriad streets and they look very busy. I look up to see the name of the boulevard and instantly I travel back in time – to when I was reading a book on Jean Paul Satre and Simon de Beauvoir. I sight the intersection of Boulevard St. Germain and Boulevard St. Michel just in front of me and realize, this is the “Latin Quarter”. I am actually close to the legendary university “Sorbonne”!

I walk up Boulevard St. Michel and see students carrying their backpacks, bikes leaning against the street light posts and used bookstores. I browse through their outdoor stalls with beautiful art books in display. Alas! They are all in French. I keep my ears propped open, hoping to pick a few Latin sounds, after all this is Latin Quarter! In the Middle Ages, European scholars would come to Sorbonne University and they would only speak “Latin”. I stop at the crowded café to have my espresso among chain-smoking worried-faced students. I pass street-side bistros and notice students busy serving foods and I reckon: they must be squeezing their precious few hours out, in between their classes and study periods.

On the left of the Boulevard St. Michel, is the famous mausoleum Pantheon. The name Pantheon was inspired by the Greek word “Every God”. They say that this is an early example of Neoclassical Architecture, with a façade modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. I stand there under the beautiful portico and watch the fantastic sight of Paris, as it looks out over almost all of Paris. I spot next to the Pantheon the law faculty of the Sorbonne. The beautiful façade of the building has a fresco –“Liberty Egalite Faternite (Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood)”. I watch the students, teachers and I muse: maybe they are still arguing their academic philosophy!

Holding my audio box tight and placing it's head phones right inside this 18th century mansion, Hotel Biron, where Rodin first rented a studio, then made it his home and his museum, and lived there until 1917, the end of his life. I have become an engrossed listener….. “Rodin was trained in the traditions of 18th century French art and studied anatomy of the human body and learned to see a human body as a series of boxes containing plains of an infinite variety and beauty…..” I am immersed in his sculptures – they are placed in simple lines. The rooms have tall windows - lights bursting through them. My audio confirms - the museum is truthfully giving a mood of harmony through lights that changes according to the hour of the day, weather and seasons; the way Rodin would like it. Rodin was a naturalist, his work’s concrete textured surfaces, mass of flesh should reveal emotion through the interplay of light.

I stand by his sculpture and muse. I try to understand his artistic philosophy. The audio plays in my ears…”I have come to know that geometry is at the very heart of feeling although that each expression of feeling is made by a movement governed by geometry. It is everywhere present in nature. Why then should it not be so in the raising of an arm or the instinctive movement of a limb? This is the architecture of our bodies. This is the concert of forms. …..static pose with all the balance and power of movement. It is Gothic: the perfect harmony of these forms, the architecture of the torso, the limbs like buttresses and the Gothics knew of it. Our great Cathedrals are built on the principle of the living body, their balance, their absolute coordination follow the laws of nature…..”.

I am coming out of the museum building and strolling through its beautiful walled garden, my eyes meet Rodin’s most famous sculpture “The Thinker” sitting upon a pedestal watching over the garden. I savor it, and contemplate - how wonderfully Rodin’s art tells stories from history, religion, myth and literature! He skillfully interpreted his emotions but at the same time let us fly our own imagination any way we want. But we can never move away from the origin. The influence of Antiquity remained consistent in his art throughout his life.

I am happy, thinking about my Cambodian dancing girls frame and paying homage to Rodin! I now appreciate more all those numerous lines around his Cambodian dancing girls - thinking he didn’t randomly draw those lines, but immortalized his excitement with his plain lines and spread the infinite beauty of nature…..

I am walking back….. a passionate solo stroller: reflecting on my time in Paris. I muse - how I stood stealthily behind a bare tree, I pondered, I asked (googled my French), I watched the sun when it was at its zenith, and saw how this “City of art” changed its mood as the day unfolded. I observed the striking similarities between Paris and Rodin: Paris from different eras did not randomly incorporate centuries old nice decorative fineries as it had evolved. It had studied its existing harmony, unity, system and direction. And then it used its liberty and adapted to the changing times….just as the Apsaras of AngkorWat once transformed into Rodin’s Cambodian dancing girls!