Thinker and Thought

The Thinker

Auguste Rodin, 1903

Patinated plaster

 

The athletic nudity of The Thinker seems to allude to the ancient belief that a healthy mind should reside in a healthy body. The right elbow on the left thigh creates a torsion that, together with the forward-leaning pose, sets the figure in motion.

[British Museum]

 

 

Thought

Auguste Rodin, 1895

Marble

 

The head emerging from a rough-worked block of stone is modelled on that of the sculptor Camille Claudel, Rodin's studio assistant, protégé, and lover. It was originally called Thought Emerging from Matter.

[British Museum]

 

Part of Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece (April to July 2018)

Bringing together sculpture by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) and his inspiration, Pheidias (c. 490–430 BC).

Done