The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Rodin - The Thinker

Rodin - The Thinker

1902
(American, 1879–1973)
Image: 36.2 x 43.8 cm (14 1/4 x 17 1/4 in.); Paper: 36.5 x 44 cm (14 3/8 x 17 5/16 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 66 cm (22 x 26 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This image was created from two different negatives printed together.

Description

When Steichen arrived in Paris in 1900, August Rodin (1840–1917) was regarded not only as the finest living sculptor but also as one of the greatest artists of the time. Steichen visited Rodin's studio in 1901, and the sculptor, upon seeing the young photographer's work, agreed to sit for a portrait. Steichen spent a year studying Rodin among his creations, finally choosing to depict the artist in front of the newly carved white marble Monument to Victor Hugo, facing a bronze of The Thinker. Stiechen did not have a wide-angle lens when he photographed Rodin, and the sculptures and blocks of marble filled the artist's studio to capacity, so two separate shots were required. Posed in relief against his work, Rodin seems to contemplate The Thinker as his alter ego, while the luminous carved figure of the great French author Victor Hugo (1802–1885) suggests poetic inspiration as the source of the sculptor's creativity.
  • E. H. T. "The Year in Review: Selections 1989." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 2 (1990): 38-78. p. 69, no. 59 25160106
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 329
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 307
  • Beyond Truth: Photography after the Shutter. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2019).
    Shadows and Dreams: Pictorialist Photography in America. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 5, 2015-January 17, 2016).
    Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007); Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA (October 3, 2009-January 3, 2010).
    Artists Photographing Artists. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 13, 2001-February 27, 2002).
    Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
    The Year in Review for 1989. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 6-April 15, 1990).
  • {{cite web|title=Rodin - The Thinker|url=false|author=Edward Steichen|year=1902|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.399