| The Thinker | |
|---|---|
_2014-04-10.JPG) The Thinker | |
| Artist | Auguste Rodin |
| Year | 1904 |
| Medium | Bronze |
The Thinker (French:Le Penseur), byAuguste Rodin, is abronze sculpture depicting anude male figure of heroic size, seated on a large rock, leaning forward, his right elbow placed upon his left thigh, with the back of his right hand supporting his chin in a posture evocative of deep thought andcontemplation. This universally recognized expression of "deep thought" has made the sculpture one of the most widely known artworks in the world. It has become the iconic symbol ofthinking; images of the sculpture in profile are often used to indicatephilosophy and other practices of contemplation orintrospection.
Rodin conceived the figure as part of his workThe Gates of Hell commissioned in 1880, but the first of the familiar monumental bronze castings was made in 1904, and is now exhibited at theMusée Rodin, inParis.
There are 27 other known full-sized bronzecastings of the figure, approximately 185 centimetres (73 in) tall, though not all were made under Rodin's supervision. Various other versions, several in plaster, as well asstudies and dozens of posthumous castings, exist in a range of sizes.
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The Thinker was initially namedThe Poet (French:Le Poète), and was part of a large commission begun in 1880 for a doorway surround calledThe Gates of Hell. Rodin based this on the early 14th century poem theDivine Comedy byDante Alighieri, and most of the figures in the work represented the main characters in the poem withThe Thinker at the center of the composition over the doorway and somewhat larger than most of the other figures. Some critics believe that it was originally intended to depict Dante at the gates of Hell, pondering his great poem.
Other critics reject that theory, pointing out that the figure is naked while Dante is fully clothed throughout his poem, and that the sculpture's physique does not correspond to Dante's effete figure.[1] The sculpture is nude, as Rodin wanted aheroic figure in the tradition ofMichelangelo, to representintellect as well aspoetry.[2] Other critics came to see the sculpture as a self-portrait.[1][3] This detail from theGates of Hell was first namedThe Thinker by foundry workers, who noted its similarity to Michelangelo's statue ofLorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, calledIl Pensieroso (The Thinker).[1]
The model for this sculpture, as for other works by Rodin, was the muscular French prizefighter and wrestler Jean Baud, who mostly appeared in thered-light district. Jean Baud was also featured on the1911 Swiss 50 franc note byHodler.
The original is in theMusée Rodin in Paris. The sculpture has a height of 72 cm, was made of bronze and had been finelypatinated and polished. The work depicts anude male figure of heroic size who is tense, muscular and internalized, contemplating the actions and fate of the people while sitting on a rock. He is seen leaning over, his right elbow placed on his left thigh, holding the weight of his chin on the back of his right hand. The pose is one of deep thought and contemplation, and the statue is often used as an image to representphilosophy. This and many other works by Rodin were groundbreaking formodernism and heralded a new age of three-dimensional artistic creation.
The work was enlarged in 1902 to a height of 181 cm. The monumental version became the artist's first work in public space. The figure was designed to be seen from below and is normally displayed on a fairly highplinth, although the heights vary considerably chosen by the various owners.
The Thinker has been cast in multiple versions and is found around the world, but the history of the progression from models to castings is still not entirely clear. About 29 monumental-sized bronze casts are in museums and public places. In addition, there are sculptures of different study-sized scales and plaster versions (often painted bronze) in both monumental and study sizes. Some newer castings have been produced posthumously and are not considered part of the original production.
Rodin made the first small plaster version around 1881. The first bronze version was executed in 1884 and is held at theNational Gallery of Victoria inMelbourne, Australia. The first full-scale model was presented at theSalon des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1904. A public subscription financed a bronze casting, which became the property of the City of Paris, and was put in front of thePanthéon.[4] In 1922, the original bronze was moved to theMusée Rodin.
In June 2022 a cast was put up for sale atChristie's in Paris with an estimate of up to €14m. The cast was made in about 1928 at theRudier Foundry, founded by Alexis Rudier (1845–1897) who worked withAntoine Bourdelle andAristide Maillol.[5]
Max Linde had a copy of the monumental version cast in 1904 and placed it in the garden of his villa,Lindesche Villa. ThereEdvard Munch painted his paintingRodin's Thinker in the Garden of Dr. Linde, which is now in theBehnhaus. The cast later went to theDetroit Institute of Arts.[6]
In his filmThe Great Dictator,Charlie Chaplin shows theVenus de Milo and Rodin'sThinker with the modification that the left arms are stretched out in the Hynkel salute.[7] With this allusion to theNazi salute, Chaplin addresses the integration of art intoNazi propaganda.[8] In the filmNight at the Museum 2, the protagonists encounter a statue of theThinker that has been brought to life. When asked a question, he stutters: "I think...I think...I think." Later in the film, he flirts with a statue of Aphrodite.[9]
As part of theStadt.Wand.Kunst [de] project launched inMannheim for the painting of houses in the city with large-scale wall paintings (so-called murals) by national and international artists from thestreet art scene, Rodin'sThe Thinker was taken up and the muralThe Modern Thinker implemented.
Repetitive portrayals of individuals, both male and female, have been depicted in physical form while in the process of contemplation or grieving.
The "Karditsa Thinker" is aNeolithic clay figurine found in the area ofKarditsa inThessaly, Greece. This unique artifact, dated around 3900 BCE, during the Final Neolithic period (4500–3300 BCE), is a large solid clay figurine of a seated man. Despite some clumsiness in detail, it conveys the impression of a robust man looking upwards with a manly bearing. The figurine exhibits features of fully developed sculpture and is considered the largest Neolithic artifact found in Greece. The pronounced ithyphallic element, though mostly broken, along with its size, suggests a possible cultic character, possibly representing an agrarian deity associated with the fertility of the land.[10][11]
TheThinker from Yehud is an archaeologicalfigurine discovered during salvage excavations in the Israeli city ofYehud. The figurine, which sits atop a ceramic jug in a posture resembling "The Thinker", dates back to theMiddle Bronze Age II Palestine (c. 1800–1600 BCE). It was found in a tomb accompanied by various items, including daggers, spearheads, an axe head, a knife, two male sheep, and a donkey, all likely buried as offerings. After its discovery, the broken jug had to be stabilised and restored before being displayed in theCanaanite Galleries of theIsrael Museum in Jerusalem.[12]
The "Thinker of Cernavodă", Romania, aterracotta sculpture, and its female counterpart, "The Sitting Woman", are works of art from theLate Neolithic era. TheHamangia culture produced these remarkable sculptures, with The Thinker believed to be the earliest prehistoric sculpture that conveys human self-reflection instead of the more common artistic themes of hunting or fertility.[13][14] The discovery of theSpong Man, which is the earliest knownAnglo-Saxon sculpture of a person, was found in Europe's other end, five millennia.[15] The sculpture takes the form of a seated figure on a pottery lid of a cremation urn, resembling a humanoid figure.[16]
A thousand years later,Michelangelo created the tomb ofLorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, which is located in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy. The tomb is a sculptural masterpiece and was commissioned byPope Clement VII to honor the memory of the Duke of Urbino, a member of the powerful Medici family of Florence. The tomb is considered one of Michelangelo's finest works in sculpture and was created in theMannerist style of the LateRenaissance period.[17] The tomb features a large rectangular base, which is adorned with intricate reliefs and two sculptures, Dusk and Dawn, that represent the cycle of life.[18] The central figure on the tomb is a sculpture of the Duke, who is portrayed as a thinker with his face in shadow and his elbow resting on a money box with a similarly muscular, contemplative figure with his hand on his chin, though the figure is seated rather than standing like Rodin's "The Thinker". The tomb also includes two reclining figures on the sarcophagus that are believed to represent Day and Night.[19]
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