ArtDaily Artist Profile
Auguste Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (; French: [fʁɑ̃swa oɡyst(ə) ʁəne ʁɔdɛ̃]; 12 November 1840 – 17 November 1917) was a French sculptor considered a founder of modern sculpture. Rejected three times from the prestigious École des Beaux Arts, Rodin trained at an applied arts school in Paris and in various studios and workshops before gaining public attention and individual commissions in his late 30s. Rodin is known for the boldly expressive, emotive physicality of his sculptures including Monument to Balzac, The Kiss, The Burghers of Calais, and The Gates of Hell, a sculptural composition that includes a figure later known as The Thinker. Many of Rodin's sculptures were criticized as unfinished or fragmented and because his work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory.