The article highlights Medardo Rosso, an Italian sculptor largely overlooked despite his pioneering role in modernist sculpture. A new exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Basel, "Medardo Rosso: The Invention of Modern Sculpture," showcases 50 of his works alongside pieces by over 60 artists including Rodin, Degas, and Brancusi, aiming to reassert his influence. Rosso's radical approach rejected monumentality for materiality and process, embracing subjects from society's fringes and anticipating 20th-century art developments. The show also revisits his bitter rivalry with Rodin, whom Rosso accused of borrowing his signature tilting effect.
This exhibition matters because it corrects a historical imbalance, positioning Rosso as a key innovator rather than a footnote to Rodin. By mapping his resonance across modern and contemporary art, the show challenges the canonical narrative and underscores how experimental sculptors like Rosso prefigured later movements. It also prompts a reevaluation of artistic influence and originality, particularly in the Rodin-Rosso dynamic, and offers a rare comprehensive survey that could reshape understanding of modern sculpture's origins.