The Hilliard Art Museum – University of Louisiana at Lafayette will mark its 20th birthday with a special guest — Auguste Rodin.
The exhibit, "Rodin: Toward Modernity," opens on Thursday, Oct. 24. That night, the museum is also hosting a gala celebrating 20 years in its current building on the corner of East St. Mary Boulevard and Girard Park Drive. Over the past two decades, the museum has established itself as a cultural hub and is the largest exhibition space in the between Houston to New Orleans.
Rodin, considered the founder of modern sculpture, is well known for his bronze castings, including “The Thinker” and “The Gates of Hell.” Forty of his renowned sculptures, lent by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation and the North Carolina Museum of Art, will be on display through April 30, 2025.
“Rodin is one of the most important artists in the last 400 years,” said Benjamin Hickey, curator of exhibitions at the Hilliard. “There’s an educational component to his work, and I hope it elicits strong emotional responses. There’s also an element of strong civic pride. I love that we were able to come together and present an exhibition of this caliber for the University and for Acadiana.”
A French sculptor who lived from 1840 to 1917, Rodin is well known for portraying extreme emotion in his artwork. Most of his sculptures feature intensely animated faces. His decision to not smooth over signs of his sculptural process was novel in his time and catapulted him into notoriety.
Another of Rodin’s best-known works, "The Burghers of Calais,” will be the centerpiece of the museum’s installation. It was created in 1885 when Rodin was commissioned by the town council of Calais, France.
The sculpture is based on the 1347 siege of Calais, when King Edward III of England starved its inhabitants for 11 months. Wealthy citizens of Calais, or burghers, offered themselves as peace offerings in exchange for their city’s freedom.
King Edward III planned on executing them, but his wife, Philipa, convinced him to spare the Burghers' lives. The sculpture shows them on their way to what they believed would be their death, bravery and fear intermingling on their faces. “Images are beautiful, but some of these pieces are really haunting,” Hickey said. “Being able to see it in person is really important.”
"Rodin: Toward Modernity" has been months in the making. Some of the sculptures weigh more than 1,000 pounds, and the museum had to hire installers from Austin to assemble the pieces, Hickey said. The team is preparing for the exhibit by cleaning glass bonnets, hanging vinyl and rearranging lighting fixtures to properly showcase the Rodin pieces.
The museum's permanent collection consists of 18th through 21st century European, Asian and American art works. In addition to its permanent collection, the 11,000 square feet of gallery space has hosted diverse exhibitions of regional, national and international art throughout its past 20 years of operation. Its main building opened in April 2004; it was designed by Eskew Dumez Ripple and received national and regional recognition including a national honor award from the American Institute of Architects.
Twenty years in a state-of-the-art facility is a significant milestone, Hickey said. To celebrate this, the museum will host a French garden-themed gala.
“A Night at the Hilliard Museum: Celebrating 20 Years of Art and Inspiration” will take place on Oct. 24 at the A. Hays Town Building, located next to the museum. Originally established in 1968 as the Art Center for Southwest Louisiana, the Hays Town building connects the museum to its long-standing roots in the community.
The “Rodin: Toward Modernity” exhibit will be unveiled that same evening and will be on view through April 30, 2025. On Oct. 25, there will be a symposium dedicated to the life and work of Auguste Rodin at the LITE Center, 537 Cajundome Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Admission is free.
Photo caption: (Top) Rodin’s "The Burghers of Calais" is on display at the Hilliard Art Museum through April 30, 2025. Photo credit: Denny Culbert / Courtesy of the Hilliard Art Museum - University of Louisiana at Lafayette