Auguste Rodin
Father of modern sculpture, The Thinker
Most quoted
"The artist must be a seer, a visionary, a poet, a dreamer, a philosopher, a scientist, a craftsman, a worker, a man of the world, a man of solitude, a man of action, a man of contemplation, a man of passion, a man of reason, a man of faith, a man of doubt, a man of joy, a man of sorrow, a man of life, a man of death."
— from Various writings
"The artist is the confidant of nature, flowers carry on dialogues with him through the graceful bending of their stems and the harmoniously tinted nuances of their blossoms. Every flower has a cordial word which nature directs towards him."
— from Art, 1911
"It is a mistake to think that the art of the Greeks depended on the beauty of the human form. What they sought was the expression of the soul, and this is to be found in the ugliness of a Silenus as well as in the beauty of a Bacchus."
— from Art, 1911
All quotes by Auguste Rodin (358)
The greatest art is that which is most human.
The artist must be a rebel, a revolutionary, a nonconformist.
The true artist does not seek to please, but to express.
The artist must be a solitary being, for only in solitude can he find his true self.
The hand that sculpts is the hand that thinks.
The artist must be a lover of truth, even if the truth is ugly.
The artist must be a child, always curious, always wondering, always experimenting.
The artist must be a god, creating worlds out of nothing.
The artist must be a madman, for only a madman can see what others cannot.
The artist must be a saint, for only a saint can endure the suffering that comes with creation.
The artist must be a devil, for only a devil can tempt others to see the world in a new way.
The artist must be a prophet, for only a prophet can foresee the future.
The artist must be a magician, for only a magician can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
The artist must be a mirror, reflecting the world back to itself.
The artist must be a bridge, connecting the past to the present and the present to the future.
The artist must be a voice, speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves.
The artist must be a healer, soothing the wounds of the soul.
The artist must be a teacher, guiding others to see the world with new eyes.
The artist must be a student, always learning, always growing, always evolving.
The artist must be a lover, for only a lover can truly understand the beauty of the human form.
Contemporaries of Auguste Rodin
Other Visual Artss born within 50 years of Auguste Rodin (1840–1917).