Rodin - The Thinker | Cleveland Museum of Art

Rodin - The Thinker

1902

Edward Steichen

(American, 1879–1973)

Culture

America

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Measurements

Image: 36.2 x 43.8 cm (14 1/4 x 17 1/4 in.); Paper: 36.5 x 44 cm (14 3/8 x 17 5/16 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 66 cm (22 x 26 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Mann 1989.399

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

This image was created from two different negatives printed together.

Description

When Steichen arrived in Paris in 1900, August Rodin (1840–1917) was regarded not only as the finest living sculptor but also as one of the greatest artists of the time. Steichen visited Rodin's studio in 1901, and the sculptor, upon seeing the young photographer's work, agreed to sit for a portrait. Steichen spent a year studying Rodin among his creations, finally choosing to depict the artist in front of the newly carved white marble Monument to Victor Hugo, facing a bronze of The Thinker. Stiechen did not have a wide-angle lens when he photographed Rodin, and the sculptures and blocks of marble filled the artist's studio to capacity, so two separate shots were required. Posed in relief against his work, Rodin seems to contemplate The Thinker as his alter ego, while the luminous carved figure of the great French author Victor Hugo (1802–1885) suggests poetic inspiration as the source of the sculptor's creativity.