Rodin The Thinker

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The Thinker is a unique sculpture by the artist Auguste Rodin created as a cast in 1904 but originated as a figure in Rodin’s commissioned work called The Gates of Hell. The sculpture was originally entitled The Poet. The Poet was only a small figure found within The Gates of Hell and was just one piece of many that were later turned into larger individual pieces ("Auguste Rodin.").
Auguste Rodin was a French artist born in 1840 born to a middle class family. He attended a school for art and mathematics and applied for entrance to Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1857 by submitting a clay model piece he created but was denied entrance. The school favored neo-classical style and Rodin was more associated with eighteenth century sculpture style. He …show more content…

Rodin drew sketches of the full size sculpture and then enlisted the help of his assistants to actually do the physical carving and formation of the finished product. The first full size sculpture was done in plaster then the following piece was cast in Bronze (“The Thinker Analysis”). It was initially introduced as a sculpture in 1881 and then created as a cast in 1902. Since then, numerous pieces have been created and donated to be on display worldwide (“The Thinker Locations”). The Thinker is probably the most well-known piece by Rodin and short of the various versions of David, could be the most well-known sculpture in …show more content…

He is masculine and rugged in appearance and the details are seen in his nude display that draws attention to his muscularity and broad features. There is somewhat of a contrast in his appearance as he represents physical strength and yet at the same time his posture and the artistic detail of his face and expression bring a sense of intellect to him. His oversized body size brings attention to his muscular build, yet a hint of vulnerability lingers in his facial expression. He appears to be a working man carrying the weight of the world upon his shoulders and also on his mind (“The Thinker Analysis”). The Thinker is on one hand a bold and on the other hand tender. One analysis points out that the natural pose or posture that a ‘thinking man’ would have would be of the right arm on the right leg or the left arm on the left leg. Rodin, however, created his piece to show the right arm resting on his left leg. This is somewhat of an unusual thinking position and an unnatural pose. The symbolism represented by the posture of choice demonstrates the balance of reasoning and intuition, or intellect and insight ("The Thinker - Rodin's Symbolic

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