Auguste Rodin, the most famous & influential sculptor of the late 19th & early 20th centuries, is also widely considered to be the successor to Michelangelo, whose genius was a lifelong inspiration to him. Tho the astonishingly lifelike quality of his sculpture was in defiance of current academic conventions, Rodin was spared the prolonged & bitter hostility meted out to the Impressionists who were his contemporaries, & in later life he became a famous & widely respected figure. Champigneulle discusses Rodin's great significance as an innovator in sculpture. For Rodin created an entirely new form--the detail considered as finished work--& in doing so exercised a lasting influence on future sculptors, who were profoundly affected by his emotional expressiveness, his power of characterization & his subtle modeling. This authoritative monograph combines a searching reappraisal of Rodin's achievement with revealing account of his personality & troubled private life.