Details

Name

Auguste Rodin

Brief Biography

1840 – 1917, French

Occupation

Sculptor

Description

Rodin was born and lived in Paris. Three times he was refused entry to the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He worked as a mason, being sent in 1871 to Brussels to work on the decoration of buildings, including the Stock Exchange. In 1874 he went to Italy to study and was particularly impressed by the works of Michelangelo. His first work accepted by the Salon in 1877, 'The Age of Bronze', aroused controversy. Rodin’s chief undertaking, 'The Gate of Hell', commissioned for the proposed Musée des Arts Decoratifs in 1880 and left unfinished at his death, contained may of the heroic figure themes of his later larger compositions. Apart from commissions, he produced mainly dramatic figure groups and energetic anatomical studies, the latter of 10 being fragmentary or left purposely in an unfinished state. In later life he was recognized as a great sculptor and received many international honours, including HRSA (1907). His influence on other sculptors was immense. He exhibited in the Paris Salon from 1877 and at the Royal Academy of Arts, London from 1882.