Rodin (1840–1917) was a French sculptor. His major works include The Thinker, The Bronze Age, The Righteous People of Calais, Balzac, etc. His most famous work can be said to be "The Thinker".
Rodin
Who is this Thinker? What's the story behind it?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > panorama and individual</h1>
The Thinker sculpture is only part of the grand scene sculpture. The entire sculpture is titled "The Gates of Hell", which comes from the "Hell Chapter" of Dante's Divine Comedy.
Unfortunately, Rodin's 37 years, beginning in 1880, were not completed in the entire half of his life.
The Gates of Hell
The Thinker was originally a small draft of a massive sculptural composition in The Gates of Hell. The Thinker sits at the center of Hell's Gates.
thinker
In Hell, there is no description of the "thinker."
Looking at the whole group of sculptures, the thinker is surrounded by a multitude of sentient beings who are suffering in hell, and he is independent of these figures, as if he is looking down on all sentient beings.
It is clearly wrong for some to think that he is the image of the judge of crimes in hell.
Because, in the beginning, Rodin named it The Poet, symbolizing the poet's reflections on the evils of "hell on earth."
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" which poet is >? </h1>
The question is, who is this "poet"?
Most people think of it as Dante. After all, he wrote the Divine Comedy.
Dante
Dante (1265 – 1321 AD), Italian poet of the late 13th century, one of the pioneering figures of the European Renaissance era. Famous for its long poem The Divine Comedy.
Dante wrote the Divine Comedy in the first person, and the "Hell Chapter" is the first part.
Opening:
In the middle of my life, I found that I had lost the right way and walked into a dark forest...
In a flustered groping,
A figure appeared in front of him, and he seemed to be hoarse due to the long silence.
After dialogue, it is known that this man was an ancient Roman poet Virgil (70 BC - 19 BC), whose Aeneid is one of the most influential epics in the history of Western culture, and his influence in western thought and art is comparable to Homer's:
I replied with a shy look, "I hope that my long-term study and deep love for your poetry will enable me to win your sympathy and assistance."
You are my teacher, my authoritative writer, and it is only from you that I have learned the beautiful style that has made me famous.
Look at the beast that made me turn around and retreat, help me escape it, the famous sage, because it frightens me. ”
Then Virgil showed him the way to hell:
So he set off, and I followed him.
"Let me enter the city of sorrow,
From me into the affliction of eternal devastation,
It was up to me to enter the crowd of doom and gloom.
Justice drives the noble Creator,
Divine power, the highest wisdom, and original love created me.
Before me there was no creation,
In addition to perpetual existence,
And I will live forever.
People who come in, you must put all hope aside! ”
I caught a glimpse of this text written on the lintel of a door, dark and gloomy; so I said, "Teacher, I find the meaning of these words terrible. ”
He said to me like a seasoned man, "Here all fear must be cast aside, and here all fear must be removed." We've come to where I told you, "
Then Dante saw the suffering of sentient beings at the gates of hell.
This is the background material for the sculptures Hell's Gate and The Thinker.
Virgil
Thus we see the second poet, Virgil, who is clearly a panicked passer-by who has just entered hell, and who has little time to sit down and think.
Instead, Virgil is an old member of Hell, familiar with the road but unable to go out, and has time to sit down and think.
But don't worry, there is a third poet waiting to appear.
This is the famous Shakespeare.
Shakespeare
Shakespeare (1564-1616), often revered by Chinese society as Shakespeare, was the most outstanding dramatist in the history of English literature and the most important and greatest writer of the European Renaissance.
There is a dialogue in his masterpiece "Hamlet", which is the best interpretation of the above "Hell's Gate" in the face of the suffering of sentient beings, hovering between life and death:
"Living or dying, it's a question.
Is it nobler to suffer ideologically?
The murderous arrow of destiny.
Or take up arms against the sea of strife.
End them by opposing them.
No more.
Get a good night's sleep and say we're done.
Heartache, a thousand natural shocks. ”
Can you remember that a self-made smart director produced a TV series that was copied unchanged, known as the closest to the original "Legend of the Eagle Hero".
Old Mr. Jin Yong was heartbroken, and he could no longer give copyright to such unimaginative people in the future.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > appreciate details</h1>
Looking at the details of "The Thinker", the face, the whole body curled up is an unnatural state, and shouldn't it be like this when the cheeks are naturally held? Put your left leg in your left hand and your right leg in your right hand.
The thinker's cheek is placed on the left leg, so awkward.
The forehead and eyebrow arch protruded extremely outward, and the eyes were extremely sunken, hidden in the shadows, enhancing the expression of bitterness and contemplation.
Thinkers, local
The extension and contraction of the calf muscle keys, and the vigorous bending of the toes that are tightly tied to the ground to maintain stability, powerfully convey this painful emotion.
It is precisely through this awkwardness that the sculptor wants to reflect that the thinker, on the one hand, shrinks into a ball of fear because he sees a tragic thing, and on the other hand, the contemplation of such a heavy problem makes him forget the awkwardness of the body.
Later, the sculpture was independent from The Gates of Hell for an exhibition in which Rodin renamed it Thinker-Poet. In this way, the name "The Thinker" quickly spread.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > influences of later generations</h1>
There are some theories that Rodin gave this image a new dimension, carving him into a serious and deeply pondering laborer (because of the muscularity, the nobility has no muscles).
In the early 20th century, The Thinker was used as a symbol of the power to transform the world.
At this time, this work has transcended the category of simple appearance and ugliness, and has risen to the height of thought.
In 1905, Lenin instructed two delegates to the Third Congress of Russian Social-Democracy to return from London through Paris to "take a look at Rodin's Thinker."
Lenin wanted the proletarian fighters of Russia to draw courage and strength from this sculptural work.
Everyone who looks at this work thinks: What is he thinking?
From big questions such as:
Alive or Dead?
Yield or fight?
Conservative or innovative, or even revolutionary?
To small problems:
Resign or stay?
Married or single?
Buy or sell (stock)?
Tangible works rise to the height of the invisible. That's what makes it appealing.