Auguste rodin 18401917 essay the metropolitan museum. The thinker is currently on view in the court of honor at the legion of honor. Mar 28, 2010 mary suzor, director of collections management, gives her perspective on the thinker, by auguste rodin. When conceived in 1880 in its original size approx. See all books authored by auguste rodin, including rodin sculptures, and rodin on art and artists fine art series, and more on. Rodins complicated relationship with classical art. Get the best deals on the thinker statue in art sculptures when you shop the largest online selection at. Media in category le penseur by auguste rodin the legion of honor the following 12 files are in this category, out of 12 total. And this is not a book related with watercolors neither.
In a work as revealing of its author as it is of his famous subject, rainer maria rilke examines rodin s life and work, and explains the often elusive connection between the creative forces that drive timeless literature and great art. But some of rodin s later worksthe thinker, for examplewere. The thinker the thinker, bronze sculpture by auguste rodin, cast in 1904. Shawn mccullars the thinker was originally called the poet and was conceived as part of the gates of hell, initially a commission 1880 for a pair of bronze doors to a planned museum of decorative arts in paris. The thinker was originally part of the gates of hell, which represented the poet dante as he contemplated writing the divine comedy. Rodin originally created this figure for the top of the gates of hell. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The thinker itself was turned into an individual sculpture in 1902 and during this period rodin was beginning to be a truly successful artist. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. The thinker was a sculpture created by auguste rodin in 1882. I recommended work highly this work by rodin shows his classic pieces and if you are really interested in rodanthe you can visit his rodin gardens in paris and even so you can go on to read dante inferno and understand the inspiration behind many of rodin s classic work. His works such as the thinker, the gates of hell, and the kiss are acknowledged. Le penseur is a bronze sculpture by auguste rodin, usually placed on a stone pedestal.
Carte postale moderne auguste rodin liegendes madchen acuarell and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. In 1902, rainer maria rilkethen a struggling poet in germanywent to paris to research and write a short book about the sculptor auguste rodin. The late albert elsen was the first american scholar to study seriously the work of the french sculptor auguste rodin, and the person most responsible for a revival of interest in the artist as a modern innovatorafter years during which the sculpture had been dismissed as so much victorian bathos. List of books and articles about auguste rodin online. When i was a kid, this was outside the entrance to the museum. Rodin on art and artists dover fine art, history of art. This week, we feature an iconic work by the father of modern sculpture, auguste rodin. The beloved statute outside the cleveland museum of art was rocked by an explosion caused by a metal pipe bomb attached to a tenfoot, militarystyle fuse. The thinker in the gates of hell at the musee rodin the thinker was initially named the poet french. During the thinker s first exhibition in 1904 critics were so enthralled by the piece that it became rodin s first work to be erected in a public place. French sculptor auguste rodin once wrote that one has only to look a. Among the 186 figures intended for it are adam and eve 1881.
Sculptor auguste rodin was fortunate to have for a secretary rainer maria rilke, one of the most sensitive poets of our time, living in his workshops. Born in 1840, rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture and is. Such is its power that today we are likely to encounter it in. Find more prominent pieces of sculpture at best visual art database. He represented dante, author of the divine comedy which had inspired the gates, leaning forward. Auguste rodin the thinker legion of honorlincoln parksan francisco. Overview this set of sculpted resin bookends is a great depiction of auguste rodins the thinker, one of the worlds most widely celebrated and reproduced of all statues. He was the preeminent french sculptor of his time, and remains one of the few sculptors widely recognized outside the visual arts community. Rodin has pronounced rilkes essay the supreme interpretation of his work. Interesting facts about the thinker just fun facts. Rodin discusses beauty and nature as well as the art of the past, the greeks and the renaissance. Originally entitled the poet, rodin placed this figure at the top of a monumental set of doors that had been commissioned by the musee des arts decoratifs in paris, which was to serve as the entrance to the museum. Browse rodin s the thinker and a variety of finely crafted sculpture reproductions inspired by the met collection.
The figure was intended to represent italian poet dante alighieri pondering the divine comedy, his epic story of paradise and inferno. From the plates you can learn about the preparation of the rodins work of sculpture. Click on a datetime to view the file as it appeared at that. Francoisaugusterene rodin 12 november 1840 17 november 1917, known as auguste rodin, was a french sculptor. This essay discussing rodins work and development as an artist is as revealing of rilke as it is of his subject.
Thinking has been expressed not only through the meditative attitude of the body, but through the effort of every muscle. Auguste rodin born francoisaugusterene rodin was a french artist, most famous as a sculptor. Oct 14, 2009 in 1870, rodin was drafted into the francoprussian war, but was discharged shortly after because of his nearsightedness rodin became inspired after his trip to italy in 1875. The thinker by auguste rodin bronze, marble at musee rodin, paris the thinker by rodin. Auguste rodin, the most celebrated sculptor of the late nineteenth century, was born in paris. The work shows a nude male figure of heroic size sitting on a rock with his chin resting on one hand as though deep in thought, often used as an image to represent philosophy.
It was originally made of plaster, but other recreations of it are made of bronze. In 1863 he went to work for the architectural sculptor a. This is a list of the thinker sculptures made by auguste rodin. Rodin chose for his subject dante s inferno from the divine comedy c. Free shipping on many items browse your favorite brands affordable prices. Rodin soon designed the thinker as an independent sculpture. The french sculptor auguste rodin found in it a new basis for life modelling and thus restored to the art a prestige that it had hardly possessed for more than two centuries. Some objects conservators encounter present more than technical preservation problems. A few years ago the sculptor expressed to the translators the wish that some day the book might be placed before the englishspeaking public.
The thinker was created in 1902 by auguste rodin in impressionism style. With the famous thinker by auguste rodin 1840 1917, the title artwork of this sistermag issue, we are on the threshold of the i n t e r v i e w. The image of the thinker is not that of a passive dreamer, but of a man actively engaged in creative thought. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Many marble and bronze editions in several sizes were executed in rodins lifetime and after, but the most famous version is the 6foot 1. Top 5 interesting facts about the thinker by rodin. His expressive, wholly unique style, which blurs the line between modernist and abstract sculpture, birthed a shocking amount of celebrated works throughout his lifetime, including the kiss, the thinker, and the gates of hell. Known as one of the most gifted figurative sculptors in history, auguste rodin made such iconic works of art as the kiss 18801881, the thinker 18811882, and the burghers of calais 18841895. Rodins thinker bookends set of 2 9780840030184 item. The sculpture is one loan for a year from the rodin. A forerunner of modern sculpture, rodins distinctive artistic style interestingly developed quite late in his life. The thinker, originally a part of rodins the gates of hell, exists in several versions. Auguste rodin is considered, after michelangelo, the 2nd greatest sculptor of the human body in history.
Auguste rodin books list of books by author auguste rodin. During the early 1900s, the great german poet lived and worked in paris with auguste rodin. Auguste rodin created the thinker in a way that mirrors the heroes of michelangelo. The celebrated french sculptor auguste rodin played by vincent lindon is the subject of the aptly titled rodin. There are 9 pieces by late french sculptor auguste rodin on display at the national museum of china. Although rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. The thinker sculpture the met store our scaled reproduction in handpatinated bonded bronze was scanned from a bronze in the museums collection, which was. The thinker was conceived as representing dante, the central figure of rodins monumental the gates of hell. The nineteenth century french sculptor, auguste rodin reveals his keen insights on sculpture and art in general in this short and highly readable volume. This demonstrates to the viewer the high regard with which rodin held dante and creative thinkers in general. The thinker was originally called the poet and was conceived as part of the gates of hell, initially a commission 1880 for a pair of bronze doors to a planned museum of decorative arts in paris. The thinker sculpture by auguste rodin essay sample. After a fortuitous meeting with the financier, philanthropist, and art collector b.
From 1880 on rodin worked intermittently on studies for a huge bronze door for the musee des arts decoratifs. But the sculptor eventually separated the figure from the gates, exhibiting it alone as a generic portrait he called the poet or the thinker. Rodin was one of the most soughtafter portraitists in history, and portraiture is an art form more often associated with rome than greece. Why does stryver continually criticize and belittle sydney carton for his social lapses from tales of two cities book 2 chapter 11. He worked originally as a mason but soon devoted himself to sculpture. This was the first piece by rodin to be on public display. The figure was intended to represent italian poet dante pondering the divine comedy, his epic classic of paradise and inferno. The thinker statue that sits in front of grawemeyer hall is the first largescale bronze cast of the thinker. The fact that the man was nude caused great controversy and turmoil for rodin. French sculptor auguste rodin personally supervised the casting in paris. On the cover is the sculpture the thinker by rodin, photographed by yousuf karsh of ottawa.
This 1882 bronze statue by french sculptor auguste rodin 18401917 can be found in harlow in essex. His great master was michelangelo he freed me from academicism. In the early hours of march 24, 1970, one of clevelands most visited landmarks, an enlarged cast of auguste rodin s famous sculpture the thinker, was changed forever. Few people will argue with the claim that auguste rodin is one of the greatest sculptors whos ever lived.
He did a sculpture with a live nude male model, auguste neyt. The thinker, by auguste rodin, 1902 the core curriculum. A bronze cast dated 1896 at the musee dart et dhistoire in geneva reproduces the original twentyseven inch version. Frame work is a weekly blog series that highlights an artwork in the museums permanent collections.
It was inspired by dantes inferno and was to be called the gate of hell. Exhibition history 1905 loan collection of paintings by claude monet and eleven sculptures by auguste rodin, the copley society of boston, copley hall, 1905, no. Although the doors were never cast during the sculptors lifetime, they nevertheless provided rodin a rich source of ideas for individual figures and groups that he worked and reworked for the rest of his career. Unbeknown to most, harlow is a town with an abundance of iconic sculptures from the modern and postwar eras, boasting not only a rodin but also works by henry moore, barbara hepworth, elisabeth frink, gerda rubenstein and ralph brown among. The film tells the story of the artists romance with camille claudel. Yet even without a national museum, his sculptures and drawings would still have had a huge impact on younger artists. Where is the thinker by august rodin located answers. The original size and the later monumental size versions were both created by rodin, and the most valuable versions are those created under his supervision. Once this beauty is adapted to allegorical ends, however, its spirit is hellenic, albeit a hellenism that throws down a challenge rather than offering a solution. Created by auguste rodin in the 1800s, the thinker is a massive bronze statue and is widely considered one of rodin s masterpieces. The thinker, auguste rodin as found in the courtyard of palace of fine arts, san francisco ca. Actually, this is not a sculpture book as you may think about rodins works. He began his art study at 14 in the petite ecole and in the school of antoine barye, earning his living by working for an ornament maker. A major collection of rodin is at stanford in palo alto, ca.
The gates of hell, an unfinished project, resulted in two of his most famous pieces. The thinker le penseur is a bronze sculpture by auguste rodin the work shows a nude male figure of over lifesize sitting on a rock with his chin resting on one hand as though deep in thought and is often used as an image to represent philosophy. Le poete, and was part of a large commission begun in 1880 for a doorway surround called the gates of hell. The seated man represented dante, the italian poet whose depiction of hell provided the theme for the doors. The original thinker resides in the rodin museum in paris, france. The thinker was designed as an independent figure almost from the time the gates were composed, and was exhibited in paris in 1889 at the exposition monetrodin at the galerie georges petit. Auguste rodin, french sculptor of sumptuous bronze and marble figures, considered by some critics to be the greatest portraitist in the history of sculpture. The thinker was created in 1882 by auguste rodin in impressionism style. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. Auguste rodin was a talented and gifted french sculptor who gained worldwide attention for his bronze figurines and portraits. The thinker by auguste rodin the thinker by auguste rodin was initially conceived for his monumental bronze portal entitled the gates of hell 18801917. Francois auguste rene rodin 12 november 1840 17 november 1917 was a french sculptor. The thinker, originally a part of rodin s the gates of hell, exists in several versions. The thinker, french le penseur, sculpture of a pensive nude male by french artist auguste rodin, one of his most wellknown works.