Auguste Rodin's The Thinker: Analysis & Facts

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

Basic Information

• Name: The Thinker
• Author: Auguste Rodin
• Commissioned by: The Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, on August 16, 1880
• Date: 1880-1900
• Project: Part of *The Gates of Hell*, an ambitious project with 186 figures, which remained unfinished.
• Style: French Impressionism
• Original Location: Not specified
• Current Location: Rodin Museum in Paris

Description and Technical Details

• Materials: Bronze, sculpted from a single block
• Dimensions: 1.98 meters x 1.29 meters x 1.34 meters (large scale)
• Color: Monochrome
• Short Description: *The Thinker* depicts a man with exaggerated musculature in a reflective pose.
• Technique: Casting
• Position: Seated
• Figurative/Non-Figurative: Figurative
• Volume: Closed
• Anatomy: Muscular anatomy, with muscles in tension; exaggerated hands and feet.
• Movement: Static, but implies internal tension.
• Composition: Simple, ordered, vertical, with a zigzag (W, Z) pattern.
• Expression: Expresses a tortured thought, reflecting the tragic fate of humanity (worried expression throughout the body).
• Base: Displayed on a pedestal
• Proportions: Exaggerated hands and feet
• Time: Long-Medium
• Light: Internal (the body creates strong shadows due to its defined form).
• Clothing: Nude, to showcase the anatomy.
• Viewer Perspective: Multiple perspectives

Influences, Context, and Interpretation

• Artistic Connections: Related to the Bronze Age in terms of realism and naturalism, unseen since the classical era; comparable to *The Burghers of Calais*.
• Contemporary Works: Similar to the early works of Miquel Blay (in the musculature) and *The Despair of the Lemon* (nude figure on a stone).
• Stylistic Depth: Characterized by rough surfaces; representation of human passions and tragedies; some incomplete parts; interest in capturing movement and light, influenced by English sculpture.
• Innovations: Rodin's modeling technique, using fingers and hands to create a rougher surface. Includes interplay with light, establishing him as a grand master of Impressionism in sculpture.
• Influences: Inspired by Michelangelo's figures and the *non-finito* (unfinished) style of Praxiteles.
• Genre: Human figure
• Iconography: Initially intended to represent the poet Dante at the gates of hell, inspired by Dante's *Divine Comedy*. Similar representations of Adam in Christian art.
• Iconology: Some critics interpret *The Thinker* as a man engaged in introspection.
• Aesthetics: Reflects the modernity of the era.
• Historical Context: The art world still revolved around the Salon; Bohemian artists identified with the political left and criticized power.
• Legacy: Rodin is considered the first modern sculptor, significantly changing the course of sculpture.