”The Thinker” sculpture by Auguste Rodin

The Thinker was a sculpture created by Auguste Rodin in 1882. It was originally made of plaster, but other recreations of it are made of bronze. The Thinker was originally part of The Gates of Hell, which represented the poet Dante as he contemplated writing The Divine Comedy. The size of the statue varies between the many copies, but the original was around 2 feet. The original Thinker had a smooth texture and a dark color. The statue has a variety of proportions with many different balances because of its simplicity. It has a unique harmony and unity to it because it is unlike other sculptures. The statue’s mood is calm but anxious. The Thinker conjures up images of intelligence and deep thought. People wonder what The Thinker is thinking about. Many believe he is pondering about philosophy. Others see him daydreaming but at a smaller scale.

I think the artist wanted people to interpret it as a person like everyone else who is just in a deep meditation about his life. That’s what everyone thinks about, so he made it to relate to everyone. The form of the statue shows a tense man who is in a trance. The emotion that this statue conveys reveals the sadness and curiosity of discovering more. This statue also shows signs of transcendentalism because it shows a man, alone from society, only surrounded by his inner thoughts. And when you’re alone, you always come up with the best philosophies. So I interpret this as a sculpture, of a man, reflecting on his life and the troubles he’s had which shows his true emotion.