1880–81
(French, 1840–1917)
Bronze
Overall: 182.9 x 98.4 x 142.2 cm (72 x 38 3/4 x 56 in.)
Weight: 1,650 pounds - weighed by crane on 5/31/2006
Gift of Ralph King 1917.42
This enlarged version of The Thinker is one of less than 10 cast during Rodin's lifetime.
The Thinker was first developed as part of Rodin's The Gates of Hell, a sculptured doorway for a proposed museum of decorative arts in Paris. Intended to be part of a relief directly above the doors, the rugged figure was originally conceived as a generalized image of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), who wrote the Divine Comedy.
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