Auguste Rodin
1840-1917 · French (Paris) · Modern Sculpture
Known for: Father of modern sculpture who created The Thinker, The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell
Rodin was rejected three times from art school and worked as a craftsman for decades. His sculptures were so lifelike he was accused of casting from living models. The Thinker, The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell liberated sculpture from idealized classicism.
He was sexually passionate, maintaining a lifelong relationship with Rose Beuret while carrying on a tempestuous affair with his brilliant student Camille Claudel. He worked obsessively, keeping hundreds of plaster fragments to combine and recombine.
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