Auguste Rodin

François-Auguste-René Rodin (French: François-Auguste-René Rodin, November 12, 1840 - November 17, 1917) was a French sculptor who is often considered the founder of modern sculpture. With a traditional education and a craftsman-like approach to creation, Rodin had a unique ability to simulate complex, turbulent and deeply recessed surfaces in clay. He is also famous for his sculptures such as "The Thinker", "Monument to Balzac", "The Kiss", "The Burghers of Calais" and "The Gates of Hell". Many of Rodin's most famous sculptures have been criticized because they conflicted with dominant sculptural traditions, in which sculptures had a certain decorative or thematic character. Rodin's most original works departed from the traditional themes of past myths and fables. The human body is shaped in a naturalistic way, highlighting the character's personality, muscles and body structure. Although Rodin was quite sensitive to the controversy surrounding his works, he still refused to change his style. He continued to create with strong passion, and later attracted the attention and favor of the government and the art world. As his fame grew, Rodin became the most outstanding French sculptor from the 19th to the early 20th century. By the 1900s, he had achieved international fame and praise, and he actively maintained contacts with well-known intellectuals and artists of the time. His student Camille Claudel would later become his colleague, lover and rival. Rodin's other students included Antoine Boudel, Constantin Brancusi and Charles Despiot. A few weeks before his death in 1917, he married his lifelong love, Rose Burley. Although Rodin's sculptures declined in popularity after his death in 1917, they regained considerable popularity decades later, and to this day Rodin remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside of the visual arts.