Bronz statue thinker by rodin (Stamford, CT)

Bronz statue thinker by rodin

Dimensions: Height 19 ? inch Width 8 inch Depth 14 inches. Weight is 48 pounds. Originally named The Poet, the piece was part of a commission by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris to create a monumental portal to act as the door of the museum. Rodin based his theme on The Divine Comedy of Dante and entitled the portal The Gates of Hell. Each of the statues in the piece represented one of the main characters in the epic poem. Some critics believe that The Thinker was originally intended to depict Dante at the Gates of Hell, pondering his great poem. However there are disturbing aspects to this interpretation, including that the figure is nude, Dante is fully clothed throughout his poem, and that the figure, as used, in no way corresponds to Dante s effete figure.[2] (In the final sculpture, a miniature of the statue is waiting atop the gates, pondering the hellish fate of those beneath him.) The sculpture is nude, as Rodin wanted a heroic figure in the tradition of Michelangelo, to represent intellect as well as poetry. This detail from the Gate 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.