Two bearded Frenchmen, Paul Cézanne and Auguste Rodin, swung wide the gates of modern art. What Cézanne's deep, crusty researches into the shapes of landscape did for modem painting, Rodin's passionate punching, kneading, twisting, squeezing and stretching of the human figure did for modern sculpture. Last week a Manhattan gallery honored the pioneer sculptor with a show of small works by him and 27 moderns, "The Heritage of Auguste Rodin."
Nineteenth Century sculpture was more lifelike than lively, consisting mostly of well-proportioned heroes and heroines correctly modeled in conventional poses. Young Rodin easily licked his contemporaries at that game. His male nude...