The Thinker
Auguste Rodin (1840 to 1917) · Modelled 1880 to 1882, cast later
A naked man sits on a rock, elbow on his knee, chin resting on the back of his hand, lost in thought so deep that every muscle in his body seems to be working at it. The Thinker is the most famous sculpture of the modern age, and the Museo Soumaya holds one of the bronze casts, which makes it one of the star attractions of the collection. Rodin first modelled the figure around 1880 as part of his enormous Gates of Hell, where it sat above the doors as the poet Dante brooding over the damned souls below him. It was later enlarged and cast on its own, and it became a symbol of the human mind at work.
Look at the body. Rodin gives the figure the build of a labourer or a boxer rather than a philosopher, with heavy shoulders, thick thighs and feet that grip the rock. The right elbow rests on the left knee, which twists the torso and creates tension across the whole figure. The surface of the bronze is rough and lively, with the marks of the sculptor's hands left in the clay and preserved by the casting. Walk around it if you can. From behind you see the curve of the spine and the tightly folded pose; from the front the face is shadowed under the brow, so the thought stays private.
Casts of The Thinker exist in many cities, made both during Rodin's lifetime and after his death by the foundries authorised by the Musée Rodin in Paris. The Soumaya's collection of Rodin is the largest outside France, assembled by Carlos Slim over several decades, and it fills the top floor of the museum, where the light from the roof falls on dozens of bronzes and marbles. The Thinker matters because it turned a decorative figure into a universal image, reproduced on posters and in cartoons, and seen here in its proper scale it is still surprising. A memorable detail is the toes of the right foot, which curl over the edge of the rock in concentration.
Did You Know? Rodin originally called the figure The Poet, because it represented Dante looking down at the Gates of Hell.
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