Art: Rosso Re-Evaluated

Medardo Rosso was a rebel. A shaggy, red-bearded bohemian, he called Greek and Roman sculpture "nothing but paperweights." The curly beard of Michelangelo's Moses was "Neapolitan spaghetti" to him. While studying at the Brera Academy in Milan, he punched a fellow student and was expelled. He took haven in Paris' Montmartre district in the days of Degas, Lautrec and Rodin. What did he think about Rodin, his senior by nearly 18 years? "Rosso loves Rosso," was his cool reply.

Yet in his rebellion against the classical notion that sculpture is petrified people striking noble poses, Rosso knew that he loved far more...

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