Unfinished magic

David Platzer | The New Criterion | 30th April 2026

A show comparing the sculptures of Michelangelo and Rodin is, says one writer, a “conversation across the centuries.”. Michelangelo wanted to show both anatomy and how it was animated by the human spirit. Rodin concurred and inspired by Michelangelo, discarded the academic style of his day in favour of “fleshy naturalism”.  That included leaving parts of a sculpture incomplete, conveying a sense that the work was imperfect and “in flux”, qualities that are catnip for twentieth century viewers.