Auguste Rodin’s exceptional works comment on the best and worst of human emotion. His works are known to portray human strength, beauty, as well as vulnerability and anguish. Breaking away from idealistic traditions, Rodin instead took a realistic approach and created works that emphasized detailed human emotion through physical expression. Rodin created profound works over the course of five decades.
Born in Paris, Rodin attended the school “La Petite Ecole” where he studied drawing and painting. He studied with sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux from 1854-1857, and for the next two decades made his living by creating decorative objects. He later went on to study with Antoine-Louis Barye whose incredibly detailed animal sculptures impacted Rodin.