Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)




Sculptor Auguste Rodin is credited with single-handedly rescuing sculpture from a moribund state and making it once more a vehicle for intense personal expression. After being educated at Paris cole des Beux-Arts, his work began to take complex, deep-pocketed forms, and Rodin soon became the most preeminent French sculptor of his time. Today his sculptures, such as Danaid and Study of the Human Face are prime examples of the naturalism movement.

Auguste Rodin was born in 1840 to a working-class Parisian family. He began teaching himself to draw at age 10, but after being denied entrance into the prestigious art schools, let his art decline. After briefly joining a Christian Order, Rodin was encouraged to rediscover his passion for sculpting. Rodin worked for years as an ornamental mason before establishing his reputation with his most famous work, The Thinker. This piece caused a sensation because Rodin's naturalistic treatment of the naked figure was so radically different from the contemporary idealizing conventions in sculpture. By 1900, Auguste Rodin was a world-renowned sculptor.

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