Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00010694The Thinker
About the Artwork
Rodin originally conceived The Thinker as a depiction of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) sitting in the upper center of a monumental sculptural doorway titled The Gates of Hell (below). Inspired by Dante’s description of a journey through the underworld in his epic poem The Divine Comedy (about 1320), The Thinker contemplates mankind’s fate while gazing at a host of damned figures writhing in anguish below. Stripped of clothing, the figure’s rippling muscles convey an inner, animating life force symbolic of mental activity or creative effort. The figure leans forward, as if ready to spring from his perch, yet seems simultaneously caught in the inaction of deep thought. Rodin produced independent versions of The Thinker, first in this original size and later in a monumental version.
Provenance
?–1979: Alexandre P. Rosenberg, New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1979–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1979. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 13-March 9, 1980). The Persistence of Classicism in Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1988-January 15, 1989). Rodin and His Contemporaries. Sunrise Art Museum, Charleston, WV (organizer) (January 10-March 8, 1998). Conserving the Past for the Future. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-May 6, 2001). Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009). Rodin-100 Years. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 1, 2017-May 13, 2018). Rodin—100 Years. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 1, 2017-May 13, 2018).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917)
- Date
- c. 1880
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 70.8 x 34.9 x 59.7 cm (27 7/8 x 13 3/4 x 23 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of Alexandre P. Rosenberg
- Accession no.
- 1979.138
More by Auguste Rodin in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00010694
Powered by Art Trackers