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. While remaining in place on the monumental Gates of Hell , The Thinker was exhibited individually in and thus became an independent work. Enlarged in , 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 become one of the most celebrated sculptures ever known.
Share Share on. Cast made by Fonderie Alexis Rudier in He is no longer a dreamer, he is a creator. Did you know fine art could have spin-offs?
Rodin experimented with a plaster cast version of his Gates of Hell standout. Measuring around 3 feet tall, The Thinker made its individual exhibition debut, which proved popular enough to inspire Rodin to think bigger.
Next he made the slightly larger-than-life version we know today. Cast in bronze, this Thinker was 6 feet tall and became the center of instant media praise. The sculptor spent a chunk of the s working on an impressionist statue Monument to Balzac. Rodin was forced to take back the sculpture, which he housed in his home in Meudon. With the turn of the century came the rousing success of The Thinker , which made people forget his monumental misstep.
In his lifetime, Rodin made at least 10 castings of The Thinker. Upon his death in , the rights to recast it were given to the nation of France. Since then, that number has grown to over The Thinker Think you know The Thinker?
Think Again. Located in front of Grawemeyer Hall, it is the first large-scale bronze cast of The Thinker. In , conservators cleaned the corrosion and restored him to a black-green patina.
Close-up detail of hand after restoration. Close-up detail of Rodin's signature on the sculpture. University of Louisville S. University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky Contact tel UofL tel
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