The Thinker (French: Le Penseur) is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin, usually placed on a stone pedestal.The work depicts a nude male figure of heroic size 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 represent philosophy

Who created the sculpture The Thinker?

<div role="note" dir="ltr">For other uses, see <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker_(disambiguation)" title="The Thinker (disambiguation)" dir="ltr">The Thinker (disambiguation)</a>.</div>The Thinker (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language" title="French language" dir="ltr">French</a>: Le Penseur) is a bronze sculpture by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Rodin" title="Auguste Rodin" dir="ltr">Auguste Rodin</a>, usually placed on a stone pedestal. The work depicts a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroic_nudity" title="Heroic nudity" dir="ltr">nude male figure of heroic size</a> 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 represent <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy" dir="ltr">philosophy</a>.
<table class="infobox vevent" dir="ltr"><tbody dir="ltr"><tr dir="ltr"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above summary" dir="ltr">The Thinker</th></tr><tr dir="ltr"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image" dir="ltr"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mus%C3%A9e_Rodin_1.jpg" class="image" title="upright=upright=1.4" dir="ltr"><img alt="upright=upright=1.4" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Mus%C3%A9e_Rodin_1.jpg/220px-Mus%C3%A9e_Rodin_1.jpg" width="220" height="330" dir="ltr"></a><div class="infobox-caption" dir="ltr">Le Penseur in the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Rodin" title="Musée Rodin" dir="ltr">Musée Rodin</a> in Paris</div></td></tr><tr dir="ltr"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" dir="ltr">Artist</th><td class="infobox-data attendee" dir="ltr"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Rodin" title="Auguste Rodin" dir="ltr">Auguste Rodin</a></td></tr><tr dir="ltr"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" dir="ltr">Medium</th><td class="infobox-data category" dir="ltr"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_sculpture" title="Bronze sculpture" dir="ltr">Bronze sculpture</a></td></tr></tbody></table>There are 28 full-sized <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casting" title="Casting" dir="ltr">castings</a> in which the figure is approximately 73 inches high, although not all were made during Rodin's lifetime and under his supervision. There are various other versions, several in plaster, and studies and posthumous castings exist in a range of sizes. Rodin first conceived the figure as part of his work <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gates_of_Hell" title="The Gates of Hell" dir="ltr">The Gates of Hell</a> commissioned in 1880, but the first of the familiar monumental bronze castings did not appear until 1904.
<h2>Contents</h2>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 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gates_of_Hell" title="The Gates of Hell" dir="ltr">The Gates of Hell</a>. Rodin based this on The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy" title="Divine Comedy" dir="ltr">Divine Comedy</a> of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri" title="Dante Alighieri" dir="ltr">Dante Alighieri</a>, and most of the figures in the work represented the main characters in the poem with The 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.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-1" dir="ltr">[1]</a> The sculpture is nude, as Rodin wanted a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero" title="Hero" dir="ltr">heroic</a> figure in the tradition of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo" title="Michelangelo" dir="ltr">Michelangelo</a>, to represent <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellect" title="Intellect" dir="ltr">intellect</a> as well as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry" title="Poetry" dir="ltr">poetry</a>.[<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" dir="ltr">citation needed</a>]
This detail from the Gates of Hell was first named The Thinker by foundry workers, who noted its similarity to Michelangelo's statue of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_de_Medici" title="Lorenzo de Medici" dir="ltr">Lorenzo de Medici</a> called Il Pensieroso (The Thinker),<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-2" dir="ltr">[2]</a> and Rodin decided to treat the figure as an independent work at a larger size. The figure was designed to be seen from below and is normally displayed on a fairly high plinth, although the heights vary considerably chosen by the various owners.<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/2014_Columbia_University_The_Thinker.jpg/220px-2014_Columbia_University_The_Thinker.jpg" width="220" height="289"><div class="caption" dir="ltr">A cast of The Thinker at <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University" title="Columbia University" dir="ltr">Columbia University</a></div>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 28 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 full-scale model was presented at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1904. A public subscription financed a bronze casting in 1906, which became the property of the City of Paris, and was put in front of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panth%C3%A9on" title="Panthéon" dir="ltr">Panthéon</a>.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-3" dir="ltr">[3]</a> In 1922, it was moved to the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_Biron" title="Hôtel Biron" dir="ltr">Hôtel Biron</a>, which had been transformed into the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Rodin" title="Musée Rodin" dir="ltr">Rodin Museum</a>. 
A bronze cast of the sculpture can be found in front of Grawemeyer Hall on the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Louisville" title="University of Louisville" dir="ltr">University of Louisville</a> Belknap Campus in <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville,_Kentucky" title="Louisville, Kentucky" dir="ltr">Louisville, Kentucky</a>. It was made in Paris and was first displayed at the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_World%27s_Fair" title="St. Louis World's Fair" dir="ltr">St. Louis World's Fair</a> in 1904, then given to the city. This sculpture was the only cast created by the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost-wax_casting" title="Lost-wax casting" dir="ltr">lost-wax casting</a> method.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-4" dir="ltr">[4]</a><h2>References</h2><OL><LI><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_ref-1" dir="ltr">^</a> Elsen, Albert L., Rodin's Gates of Hell, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis Minnesota, 1960 p. 96.
</LI><LI><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_ref-2" dir="ltr">^</a> Elsen, Albert L., Rodin's Gates of Hell, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis Minnesota, 1960 p. 77.
</LI><LI><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_ref-3" dir="ltr">^</a> Brocvielle, Vincent, Le Petit Larousse de l'Histore de l'Art, (2010), (in French), pg. 240.
</LI><LI><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_ref-4" dir="ltr">^</a> <cite dir="ltr"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110226112258/http://louisville.edu/ur/onpi/campus-tour/btourpg2.html" dir="ltr">"U of L Belknap Campus Tour, page 2"</a>. University of Louisville. 2000. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" href="http://louisville.edu/ur/onpi/campus-tour/btourpg2.html" dir="ltr">the original</a> on February 26, 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2010.</cite>
</LI></OL>

philosophy

Philosophy

The Thinker (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language">French </a>: Le Penseur ) is a bronze sculpture by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Rodin">Auguste Rodin </a>, usually placed on a stone pedestal. The work depicts a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroic_nudity">nude male figure of heroic size </a>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 represent <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy">philosophy </a>.

There are 28 full-sized <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casting">castings </a>in which the figure is approximately 73 inches high, although not all were made during Rodin's lifetime and under his supervision. There are various other versions, several in plaster, and studies and posthumous castings exist in a range of sizes. Rodin first conceived the figure as part of his work <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gates_of_Hell">The Gates of Hell </a> commissioned in 1880, but the first of the familiar monumental bronze castings did not appear until 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 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gates_of_Hell">The Gates of Hell </a> . Rodin based this on The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy">Divine Comedy </a> of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri">Dante Alighieri </a>, and most of the figures in the work represented the main characters in the poem with The 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.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-1">[1] </a> The sculpture is nude, as Rodin wanted a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero">heroic </a>figure in the tradition of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo">Michelangelo </a>, to represent <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellect">intellect </a>as well as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry">poetry </a>.[<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed </a> ]

This detail from the Gates of Hell was first named The Thinker by foundry workers, who noted its similarity to Michelangelo's statue of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_de_Medici">Lorenzo de Medici </a>called Il Pensieroso (The Thinker),<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-2">[2] </a> and Rodin decided to treat the figure as an independent work at a larger size. The figure was designed to be seen from below and is normally displayed on a fairly high plinth, 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 28 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 full-scale model was presented at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1904. A public subscription financed a bronze casting in 1906, which became the property of the City of Paris, and was put in front of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panth%C3%A9on">Panthéon </a>.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-3">[3] </a> In 1922, it was moved to the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_Biron">Hôtel Biron </a>, which had been transformed into the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Rodin">Rodin Museum </a>.

A bronze cast of the sculpture can be found in front of Grawemeyer Hall on the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Louisville">University of Louisville </a>Belknap Campus in <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville,_Kentucky">Louisville, Kentucky </a>. It was made in Paris and was first displayed at the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_World%27s_Fair">St. Louis World's Fair </a>in 1904, then given to the city. This sculpture was the only cast created by the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost-wax_casting">lost-wax casting </a>method.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-4">[4] </a>

<ol><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_ref-1">^ </a> Elsen, Albert L., Rodin's Gates of Hell , University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis Minnesota, 1960 p. 96. </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_ref-2">^ </a> Elsen, Albert L., Rodin's Gates of Hell , University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis Minnesota, 1960 p. 77. </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_ref-3">^ </a> Brocvielle, Vincent, Le Petit Larousse de l'Histore de l'Art , (2010), (in French), pg. 240. </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_ref-4">^ </a> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110226112258/http://louisville.edu/ur/onpi/campus-tour/btourpg2.html">"U of L Belknap Campus Tour, page 2" </a>. University of Louisville. 2000. Archived from <a href="http://louisville.edu/ur/onpi/campus-tour/btourpg2.html">the original </a>on February 26, 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2010 . </cite> </li> </ol>

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