THE THINKER

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) was a French sculptor known for his unique, virtuoso ability to organize a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface that set him apart from the figure sculpture traditions before and since his time.

In 1880 he was awarded the commission to create a portal for the planned Museum of Decorative Arts. Although the museum was never built, Rodin worked for 37 years on this monumental sculptural group, The Gates of Hell, depicting scenes from Dante's Inferno in high relief. "The Thinker" was originally meant to depict Dante, the great Italian poet, in front of the Gates of Hell, pondering his great poem.

The first large-scale bronze cast was finished in 1902, but was not presented to the public until 1904. It became the property of the city of Paris and was put in front of the Panthéon in 1906. In 1922, however, it was moved to the Hôtel Biron, transformed into a Rodin Museum. More than any other Rodin sculpture, 'The Thinker' moved into the popular imagination, as an immediately recognizable icon of intellectual activity.

Source: - Wikipedia

What could have made him think so much???