Dramatic entrance for Rodin’s iconic sculpture

Sep 4 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

RODIN’S The Kiss, one of the most recognisable pieces of sculpture in the world, was unpacked and installed in Liverpool Tate last night.

The iconic piece arrived at the gallery early yesterday morning, secured in a large crate.

It is just one famous masterpiece among several which will be on display throughout the Capital of Culture year – but the only one to make such a dramatic entrance.

The sculpture, which stands at nearly 6ft tall and weighs more than three metric tons, was delicately rolled along the Colonnades of the Albert Dock before being gently lifted into the waterfront gallery.

The front windows of the building had to be removed to allow it in, and there were delays to unpacking the artwork as one pane of glass cracked during the move.

Unpacking of the precious sculpture could not be completed until all the windows were back in place, as it has to be kept in particular indoor climate conditions.

The Kiss now takes pride of place in the gallery’s foyer, where it will be seen by visitors and passers by.

Art handlers will be putting the finishing touches to the new home of the sculpture today, taking off the last of the safety harnesses and securing its plinth. Although the area will be cordoned off, it will still be able to be viewed by the public as work goes on.

Curator Kyla McDonald spoke of the anticipation of taking delivery of such a precious work.

She said: “It has been really exciting watching it being unveiled and seeing it for the first time.

“It is so much bigger than you think it is going to be from photographs.

“It is fantastic, and I’m overjoyed it has all gone so well.

“The work began at about 6am because we had to remove the front windows and metal work and prop them up, before moving the sculpture from our loading bay, along the front of the Colonnades and through the front window.”

The Kiss makes up part of the new exhibition The Twentieth Century: How It Looked & How It Felt, which will run until spring 2009 and has resulted in a major rehang of the Tate collection, which is opening floor-by-floor over the next three weeks.

An exhibition on the ground floor featuring the work of British artist Bridget Riley also opens this week.

The first floor exhibition, which will be showing work including Andy Warhol’s Marilyn diptych, Degas’s Little Dancer and Picasso’s Weeping Woman for the first time in Liverpool, will open on September 15.

Abstract artists including Roscoe and Pollock will feature in the exhibition on the second floor, which opens on September 29.

vickyanderson