Auguste Rodin

Lore & Background

Rodin was born into a working-class family in Paris and largely self-educated. He attended the Petite École, studying drawing and painting under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran. After failing three times to enter the École des Beaux-Arts, he worked as a craftsman and ornamenter for nearly two decades. Following the death of his sister in 1862, he briefly joined a Catholic order, where Father Peter Julian Eymard encouraged him to continue sculpting. In 1864, he began a lifelong relationship with seamstress Rose Beuret, with whom he had a son. During the Franco-Prussian War, he served briefly in the National Guard. He spent six years in Belgium, working as a decorator, and in 1875 visited Italy, where the work of Donatello and Michelangelo profoundly influenced him.

Reader's Guide

Rodin's significance lies in his role as the founder of modern sculpture, breaking from decorative, formulaic traditions to emphasize naturalism, individual character, and physicality. His works, such as The Thinker and The Burghers of Calais, were initially criticized for clashing with predominant figurative sculpture traditions. Despite controversy, he refused to change his style, and his continued output brought increasing favor from the government and artistic community. By 1900, he was world-renowned, with wealthy private clients seeking his work after his World's Fair exhibit. His sculptures suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades his legacy solidified. He remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside the visual arts community. His influence extended through his students, including Brâncuși and Bourdelle, who carried forward his innovations.

Did You Know?

• Rodin failed three times to gain entrance to the École des Beaux-Arts.
• He briefly joined a Catholic order after his sister's death in 1862.
• His sculpture The Age of Bronze led to accusations that he had cast it from a living model.
• He married his lifelong companion Rose Beuret in the last year of both their lives.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"This full, pouting mouth, rich in sensuous expressions. these lips like a lake of pleasure, fringed by the noble, palpitating nostrils." — Auguste Rodin "Barye... did not teach us much ; he was always worried and tired when he came, and always told us that it was very good." — Auguste Rodin "p. 2 About Barye's drawing classes at the Jardin des Plantes." — Auguste Rodin "p. 63-64; About the genius of the Gothic sculptors." — Auguste Rodin