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)
Love your calling with passion; it is the meaning of your life.
The human body is poetry.
True art is the rejection of the ugly.
In art, as in love, instinct is enough.
The sculptor produces the beautiful by dealing with the proportions that enhance it.
Life without love is like a year without summer.
Genius contemplates the play of particles.
What is drawing? It is the activity of the painter's mind.
The artist enriches the region in which he lives.
Beauty in art is harmony.
I have only tried to realize my own dreams.
Sorrow is the seed of joy.
The work of art is a corner of creation seen through a temperament.
To model is to seek the soul.
Nature's beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation.
Art is a corner of nature seen through a temperament.
Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.
The nude is the most complete expression of form.
In sculpture, the surface is everything.
Life is a sculpture we chisel every day.
Contemporaries of Auguste Rodin
Other Visual Artss born within 50 years of Auguste Rodin (1840–1917).