Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) was a French sculptor whose figures use gesture, anatomy and worked surfaces to convey physical and emotional presence. He developed compositions through clay modelling, plaster versions and bronze casting, sometimes reusing or combining studies in new arrangements. The Thinker began as a figure associated with Dante above The Gates of Hell before becoming an independent sculpture. Other works, including The Kiss, connect individual figures with larger narrative projects. Rodin's practice makes the stages of creation important to understanding a finished work: a model, a marble version and a later bronze cast can share a design while differing in material, scale and date.