The Thinker - Historical Information

Historical Information

Originally named "The Poet" (Le Poète in French), the piece was part of a commission by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, to create a monumental portal to act as the door of the museum. Auguste Rodin based his theme on The Divine Comedy of Dante and entitled the portal The Gates of Hell. Each of the statues in the piece represented one of the main characters in the epic poem. Some critics believe "The Thinker" was originally intended to depict Dante at the Gates of Hell, pondering his great poem. However, there are "questionable" aspects to this interpretation, including that the figure is naked, Dante is fully clothed throughout his poem, and that the figure, as used, in no way corresponds to Dante's effete figure. (In the final sculpture, a miniature of the statue is waiting atop the gates, pondering the hellish fate of those beneath him.) The sculpture is nude, as Rodin wanted a heroic figure in the tradition of Michelangelo, to represent intellect as well as poetry.

This detail from the Gate of Hell was first named "The Thinker" by foundry workers, who noted its similarity to Michelangelo's statue of Lorenzo de Medici called "Il Penseroso" (the Thinker).