The Thinker
The Thinker Around 1881
The Thinker
François Auguste René Rodin made the first small plaster version of The Thinker around 1881. The first full-scale model was presented at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1904. The Thinker was initially named The Poet (French: Le Poète) and was part of a large commission begun in 1880 for a doorway surround called The Gates of Hell.
This detail from the Gates 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).
A public subscription financed a bronze casting in 1906, which became the property of the City of Paris.
Quotes from famous Thinkers
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
“The only thing I know is that I know nothing.”
“The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else.”
“Success depends on previous preparation, and without such preparation, there is sure to be a failure.”
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”