Walking Man, Bronze, 1900-1907, Collection of the Rodin Museum

Text and photos by Chen Chi-Hsiang. Upon entering the museum, we are immediately captivated by a magnificent sculpture brimming with power: The Walking Man. It belongs to the same series as The Blue Butterfly. Here, Rodin emphasizes the movement of "force" and "beauty" during the Industrial Revolution; his vividly developed muscles suggest continuous motion through space.

Like The Blue Flower, Rodin achieves his most intense expression through a refined, simplified, and powerful form that omits the head and hands. This innovation broke the dogmas of official academic art, particularly its perfectionism. In this display of force and beauty in motion, he foreshadowed the arrival of Futurism in the new century.