55 Auguste Rodin Facts That Will Inspire You To Be A Sculptor

Auguste Rodin was able to bring back the old Western sculpture tradition through his realistic sculpture works of human bodies.

The great French sculptor’s works showed realism and symbolism. One of his great pieces of work that has been made popular all over the world is Auguste Rodin’s ‘Les Bourgeois De Calais' - ‘The Burghers of Calais’.

The sculptures tell the story of the siege of Calais of 1347, of the hundred years of war. The whole idea that the artist has tried to portray in this amazing piece of art is the idea of freedom from oppression.

Another epic sculpture by Auguste Rodin is ‘The Kiss’. The French name for the same was 'Le Baiser' and was a great depiction of art to show the French culture of embracing.

After reading more about the life of the famous sculptor, also check Frederic Auguste Bartholdi facts and Pierre Auguste Renoir facts.

Fun Facts About Auguste Rodin

The full name of the great sculptor Auguste Rodin was Francois Auguste Rene Rodin.

• He was born in Paris, France on November 12, 1840.
• The French sculptor was famous for his works of marble figures and sumptuous bronze.
• The most famous works of Auguste Rodin were ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Thinker’.
• Among his portrait works, ‘Honore de Balzac’ and ‘Victor Hugo' got attention as monumental figures.
• Rodin was being born into a poor family, he struggled through his childhood by indulging in drawing and modeling classes.
• He failed in many competitive exams like Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
• Later in the year of 1857, he decided to start earning his living by taking up decorative stonework.
• The impressionist sculptor even got a state commission for creating a bronze door to the future Museum of Decorative Arts.
• Auguste Rodin’s theme of work for the bronze door was taken from the scenes of ‘Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy’.
• Eventually, the name of the work was given as ‘The Gates of Hell’.
• The artist and sculptor lived his life in France.
• Auguste Rodin has a beautiful museum named ‘The Musee Rodin’ dedicated to his artworks.
• The normal belief for sculptors is they have sharp sight and sharp blades. But this was not the care for Rodin as he did not have great eyesight.
• He was many things before being an artist.
• He married the love of his life Rose Beuret a year before he passed away.
• The single piece of Auguste Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ was actually a part of a larger structure of art design.
• Auguste Rodin got inspired by the famous sculptures of Michelangelo and other fellow renaissance artists.
• Using the Collas machine, one of the famous sculptures Rodin created, 'The Thinker' was copied and made across many places in the world.
• Rodin’s work of 'Honore de Balzac' became pretty controversial during the times.
• One of the notable sculptures 'The Thinker' replicated in the Cleveland Metropolitan Museum of art was bombarded in a terrorist bombing in the 1970s.
• A hotel ground floor was converted into a studio workplace by Auguste Rodin.
• The same hotel was later converted and known as the Musee Rodin Museum showcasing some of his famous works.
• Even though Auguste Rodin was in a lifelong relationship with his wife Rose Beuret, he had fallen in love with one of his young sculptor students, Camille Claudel.
• Some say that it was really Camille Claudel who was taken as an original model for his famous work ‘The Kiss’.
• Both Auguste Rodin and his wife Rose Beuret were buried next to each other after their deaths.
• In the history of the Catholic period, it was a priest who encouraged Auguste Rodin to pursue his love for art.
• Auguste Rodin was also drafted into the Franco-Prussian army for the war, but his eyesight made him drop out of the army.
• The fellow sculptor Auguste Rodin paved the way to modern sculpture.

Facts About Auguste Rodin's Art

The name of the French sculptor François Auguste René Rodin was often used as a synonym with one of the famous works of art, 'The Thinker'.

• Auguste Rodin was highly influenced by the work of Italian renaissance sculptors and artists, such as Michelangelo's figures of artwork.
• The world of fine arts and modern art still appreciates the work of this French sculptor, Auguste Rodin.
• In Rodin's life, he failed in making sculptures three times in the French School of Fine Arts examination.
• Due to the neoclassicism practiced in the norms of those times, the same prestigious institute approached Auguste Rodin and told him that his sculptures and decorative arts were not that conventional.
• Auguste Rodin, being a young sculptor in his sculpture class, wanted to make a sculpture of the nude human body of real models.
• One of the notable works of young Auguste Rodin named ‘The Age of Bronze’ became a controversial subject due to the high realism achieved in the sculpture.
• There were rumors that Auguste Rodin had done the sculpture on his friend’s body or had used a dead body to bring such realism to the sculpture art.
• His talent later was proved to the press by him sculpting the statue of Saint John the Baptist Preaching as an oversized sculpture.
• The famous sculpture work of Rodin ‘The Gates of Hell’ was never finished by him.

Facts About Auguste Rodin's Legacy

The great artist’s hand works were very evident in his sculptures where people have discovered his fingerprints in the pliable clay or plaster casts used in the artwork and sculptures.

• The famous sculpture of Auguste Rodin, ‘The Kiss’ was made in 1882 in marble in France, Paris.
• The impressionist French artist Auguste Rodin's legacy was supported by his notable works ‘The Thinker’, ‘The Kiss’, ‘The Burghers of Calais’, and many more such historic artworks.
• The great sculptor Auguste Rodin was not only good at making sculptures, but he was also proficient in making statues and drawings.
• Auguste Rodin has been called modern-day Michelangelo who has incarnated the power of such great genius sculpture makers.
• However, he received a lot of criticisms for his style of work which were even pointed out as not having formal discipline and meaning.
• Still, he was successful to get past all those criticisms proving his real talent of art and his realism and symbolic style.
• His students and pals helped him to gain popularity all over the country by promoting and sending true facts and news of his works.
• Auguste Rodin has many museums which showcase his works in Paris, Philadelphia, and Tokyo.

Facts About Auguste Rodin's Training

Let's look at some fun facts about Auguste Rodin's training!

• After getting rejected three times from the examination of the fine arts, he worked and studied under various sculptors who later contributed to his improvement of art and success.
• The three times rejected Rodin learned sculpture tradition from various individual sculptures whom he had worked with.
• He learned the art of drawing from Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran.
• He also learned modeling under the excellent sculptor Jean Baptiste Carpeaux from the school of decorative arts in Paris, France.
• The impressionist sculptor-Rodin even though he was not a big fan of color implied the effect of light and texture in his sculptures and surfaces making it reveal the realism and impressionism in his artworks.
• In 1862 Rodin lost his older sister due to peritonitis. He felt guilty due to the death and as a result of his anguish, he joined the Catholic order and stopped producing more artworks.
• Later, however, the head of the congregation recognizing the potential of Rodin encouraged him to join back to his talent of sculpture making.
• Auguste Rodin tried to integrate the reality of human anatomy with his sculpture works giving a careful eye to each and every detail and texture of his works.
• The French sculptor Rodin who was born in a poor family later with hard training and studies was able to reach a stage of popularity and fame with financial and artistic success during his life.
• He even was elected as a President to the International Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers in the year 1903.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 65 Auguste Rodin facts that will inspire you to be a sculptor then why not take a look at Andrea Joseph facts, or Andres Bonifacio facts.