Artwork Page for The Thinker

Details / Information for The Thinker

The Thinker

c. 1880

Auguste Rodin

(French, 1840–1917)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
bronze
Measurements
Overall: 70.8 x 34.9 x 59.7 cm (27 7/8 x 13 3/4 x 23 1/2 in.)
Weight: 61.689 kg (136 lbs.)
Credit Line
Gift of Alexandre P. Rosenberg 1979.138
Public Domain
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Location
AAE Art Allée East
Print

Description

Rodin originally conceived The Thinker as a depiction of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) sitting in the upper center of a monumental sculptural doorway titled The Gates of Hell (below). Inspired by Dante’s description of a journey through the underworld in his epic poem The Divine Comedy (about 1320), The Thinker contemplates mankind’s fate while gazing at a host of damned figures writhing in anguish below. Stripped of clothing, the figure’s rippling muscles convey an inner, animating life force symbolic of mental activity or creative effort. The figure leans forward, as if ready to spring from his perch, yet seems simultaneously caught in the inaction of deep thought. Rodin produced independent versions of The Thinker, first in this original size and later in a monumental version.
A shiny dark-brown and green bronze sculpture depicts a muscular, nude man seated, his right elbow supported by his left knee as he rests his chin on the back of his hand, lips pressed into his knuckles. His left wrist drapes over the same knee, knees turn slightly inward. He has short hair and a furrowed brow, looking down. He sits on a block of rough-hewn stone.

The Thinker

c. 1880

Auguste Rodin

(French, 1840–1917)
France, 19th century

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