Auguste Rodin was born François-Auguste René Rodin on November 12, 1840. As a child, he did poorly in school mostly due to shyness and extreme nearsightedness. At the age of 10, he took an interest in drawing and had his first lesson, but shortly after, his father sent him away to his uncle's boarding school. He stayed there 3 years, but returned home in 1854 as an educational failure.

Shortly after returning, he enrolled at the École Impériale de Dessin. Throughout the next few years, he became interested in clay and sculpting; and at the age of 17 he won 2 prizes for drawing and modeling. He attempted to use his victories to apply to the École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts), but was rejected 3 times.

In need of money, he began to work in the commercial sculpture industry under Carrier Beluse, who not only taught him the art of sculpting, but also the art of business. Four years later, his sister unexpectedly passed away, and Rodin joined a Catholic religious order. He remained there depressed for a short time before Father Eymard, the founder of his order, encouraged him to return to sculpting.

In 1863, Rodin began work on his first sculpture using a live model. It was titled "The Man With The Broken Nose", but the title was shortly changed when the head of the sculpture broke off leaving only the face. The new title would be "Mask of the Man With The Broken Nose." Despite repeated submissions, the Paris Salon declined to accept the work.

Because of the Franco-Prussian war, Rodin was forced to relocate for several years to Brussels, where he held his first personal exhibition. In 1875, still determined to gain acceptance into the Paris Salon, Rodin created a sculpture of a Belgian soldier, titled "The Vanquished." After being accused of "faking" the sculpture by taking a cast of a live model (which he did not do), he travelled back to Paris and submitted the sculture to The Salon. It was now titled "The Age of Bronze," and, as was the case in Belgium, Rodin was once again accused of using a cast of a live model.

Rodin returned to commerical sculpting, and created his next major sculpture, titled "John The Baptist." He intentionally made the sculpture on a larger than normal scale to prevent anyone from accusing him again of casting a live model.

In 1880, Rodin won a commission to design the doorway to the planned Museum of Decorative Arts. This doorway, titled The Gates Of Hell, became a life-long project for Rodin. Although it was never finished, one of the characters on his door became the beginning of what was to be "The Thinker," which is perhaps the most famous french sculpture of all time.

As the 1880's progressed, he became so successful that he was able to hire an entire team of assistants to work with him in his studio. Around this time, he met Camille Claudel, a 19 year old art student. Shortly after, they began a relationship which lasted until 1898 when his refusal to leave Rose Beuret led to their split. During their relationship, Claudel inspired many of Rodin's most famous works, including The Kiss.

Finally, after a lifetime together, Beuret and Rodin wed. Rose Beuret died 3 weeks later, and Rodin himself passed away later that same year. He was burried beside Rose in Meudon, with The Thinker at the base of his grave.

 

 

Rodin working on a bust of Father Eymard in 1863

The Thinker