Le Penseur (The Thinker). Auguste Rodin (1840 -1917)
Created in 1880 in its original size, approximately 70 cm, to adorn the tympanum of The Gates of Hell ,The Thinker was then titled The Poet: it represented Dante, the author of The Divine Comedy which had inspired The Gate,leaning forward to observe the circles of Hell while meditating on his work.The Thinker was therefore initially both a being with a tortured body, almost a damned man, and a man with a free spirit, determined to transcend his suffering through poetry.While retaining its place within the monumental ensemble of La Porte, The Thinker was exhibited separately from 1888 and thus became an autonomous work.Enlarged in 1904,it took on a monumental dimension that further increased its popularity:this image of a man deep in thought, but whose powerful body suggests a great capacity for action, has become one of the most famous sculptures in existence.