Auguste Rodin

(French, 1840–1917)

Auguste Rodin was a French artist widely regarded as the father of Modern sculpture. Known for his expressive depictions of the human form in bronze and marble, Rodin is responsible for such iconic works as The Kiss (c. 1882) and The Thinker (1902). “To any artist, worthy of the name, all in nature is beautiful, because his eyes, fearlessly accepting all exterior truth, read there, as in an open book, all the inner truth,” he once explained. Born François-Auguste-René Rodin on November 12, 1840 in Paris, France, he studied decorative arts and sculpture at an early age, but was rejected by the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts. By the age of 19, after failing to gain admittance three times, Rodin began working odd jobs as a day laborer in plaster workshops. The artist travelled to Florence to study the sculptures of Michelangelo shortly before a turning point in his career, when, in 1877, the Salon finally accepted one of his works. During the late 1880s, the artist—despite having a life-long companion in Rose Beuret—carried on a number of affairs, including with a young sculptor name Camille Claudel. By the end of the decade, he was a world-renowned artist despite continuing to provoke scandal with works such as The Burghers of Calais (1889). Rodin died on November 17, 1917 in Meudon, France. Today his work can be found in institutions around the world, including multiple museums dedicated to his oeuvre, such as the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia and the Musée Rodin in Paris.