How did Auguste Rodin’s sculptures connect human figures with surrounding space?

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Portrait of Auguste Rodin standing indoors, wearing a buttoned, two-toned coat with a full beard and tousled hair, looking slightly to the side. — Auguste Rodin French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Auguste Rodin revolutionized sculpture by breaking away from the traditional reliance on mass as the primary vehicle for composition. While earlier sculpture typically depended on a distinct interplay between solid forms and voids, Rodin’s methods "explosively opened" the mass, allowing his works to become fused with the surrounding space.1

By utilizing techniques such as bold surface modeling—which prioritized emotive, "becoming" forms over definitive, literal finishes—and incorporating fragments like broken torsos, Rodin expanded the range of figure composition. This approach allowed his sculptures to interact dynamically with their environment rather than existing as isolated, self-contained objects.1