The Thinker (le penseur) 2012 @Musee Rodin #3
The Thinker (le penseur) by Auguste Rodin
Bronze
H. 180 cm ; W. 98 cm ; D. 145 cm
Cast made by Fonderie Alexis Rudier in 1904. Transfered to the musée Rodin in 1922.
When conceived in 1880 in its original size (approx. 70 cm) as the crowning element of The Gates of Hell, seated on the tympanum, The Thinker was entitled The Poet. He represented Dante, author of the Divine Comedy which had inspired The Gates, leaning forward to observe the circles of Hell, while meditating on his work.
The Thinker was therefore initially both a being with a tortured body, almost a damned soul, and a free-thinking man, determined to transcend his suffering through poetry. The pose of this figure owes much to Carpeaux’s Ugolino (1861) and to the seated portrait of Lorenzo de’ Medici carved by Michelangelo (1526-31).
While remaining in place on the monumental Gates of Hell, The Thinker was exhibited individually in 1888 and thus became an independent work.
Enlarged in 1904, its colossal version proved even more popular: this image of a man lost in thought, but whose powerful body suggests a great capacity for action, has became one of the most celebrated sculptures ever known. Numerous casts exist worldwide, including the one now in the gardens of the Musée Rodin, a gift to the City of Paris installed outside the Panthéon in 1906, and another in the gardens of Rodin’s house in Meudon, on the tomb of the sculptor and his wife.
www.musee-rodin.fr/en/collections/sculptures/thinker
The Musée Rodin in Paris, France, is a museum that was opened in 1919 in the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds. It displays works by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin.
While living in the Villa des Brillants (in Meudon, suburb of Paris), Rodin used the Hôtel Biron as his workshop from 1908, and subsequently donated his entire collection of sculptures (along with paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that he had acquired) to the French State on the condition that they turn the building into a museum dedicated to his works.
The Musée Rodin contains most of Rodin's significant creations, including The Thinker, The Kiss, Monument to Victor Hugo, The Burghers of Calais, La Cathedrale, Monument to Balzac, Study for the Naked Muse, without Arms and The Gates of Hell. Many of his sculptures are displayed in the museum's extensive garden.
The museum is one of the most accessible museums in Paris. The gardens around the museum building contain many of the famous sculptures in natural settings.
Behind the museum building is a small lake and casual restaurant.
The Musée Rodin collections are very diverse, as Rodin used to collect besides being an artist, some paintings by Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh which were in Rodin's personal collections are also presented. The museum has also a room dedicated to works of Camille Claudel.
Wikipedia
The Thinker (le penseur) 2012 @Musee Rodin #3
The Thinker (le penseur) by Auguste Rodin
Bronze
H. 180 cm ; W. 98 cm ; D. 145 cm
Cast made by Fonderie Alexis Rudier in 1904. Transfered to the musée Rodin in 1922.
When conceived in 1880 in its original size (approx. 70 cm) as the crowning element of The Gates of Hell, seated on the tympanum, The Thinker was entitled The Poet. He represented Dante, author of the Divine Comedy which had inspired The Gates, leaning forward to observe the circles of Hell, while meditating on his work.
The Thinker was therefore initially both a being with a tortured body, almost a damned soul, and a free-thinking man, determined to transcend his suffering through poetry. The pose of this figure owes much to Carpeaux’s Ugolino (1861) and to the seated portrait of Lorenzo de’ Medici carved by Michelangelo (1526-31).
While remaining in place on the monumental Gates of Hell, The Thinker was exhibited individually in 1888 and thus became an independent work.
Enlarged in 1904, its colossal version proved even more popular: this image of a man lost in thought, but whose powerful body suggests a great capacity for action, has became one of the most celebrated sculptures ever known. Numerous casts exist worldwide, including the one now in the gardens of the Musée Rodin, a gift to the City of Paris installed outside the Panthéon in 1906, and another in the gardens of Rodin’s house in Meudon, on the tomb of the sculptor and his wife.
www.musee-rodin.fr/en/collections/sculptures/thinker
The Musée Rodin in Paris, France, is a museum that was opened in 1919 in the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds. It displays works by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin.
While living in the Villa des Brillants (in Meudon, suburb of Paris), Rodin used the Hôtel Biron as his workshop from 1908, and subsequently donated his entire collection of sculptures (along with paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that he had acquired) to the French State on the condition that they turn the building into a museum dedicated to his works.
The Musée Rodin contains most of Rodin's significant creations, including The Thinker, The Kiss, Monument to Victor Hugo, The Burghers of Calais, La Cathedrale, Monument to Balzac, Study for the Naked Muse, without Arms and The Gates of Hell. Many of his sculptures are displayed in the museum's extensive garden.
The museum is one of the most accessible museums in Paris. The gardens around the museum building contain many of the famous sculptures in natural settings.
Behind the museum building is a small lake and casual restaurant.
The Musée Rodin collections are very diverse, as Rodin used to collect besides being an artist, some paintings by Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh which were in Rodin's personal collections are also presented. The museum has also a room dedicated to works of Camille Claudel.
Wikipedia