Auguste Rodin

French, 1840-1917. Though Auguste Rodin became one of the most famous sculptors in history, he almost gave up on his craft. Rodin failed to enter the Ecole des Beaux-Arts three times but was finally able to secure employment with in the shop of sculptor Albert Carrier-Belleuse in 1863. The Franco-Prussian War made it difficult for any artist in Paris to find work but fortunately, Belleuse was awarded a massive commission sent Rodin to Brussels and where he remained working and honeing his talent. It was there where he created the Age of Bronze sculpture that brought him back to Paris as it was in the 1877 Paris Salon. It was so lifelike that critics thought Rodin cast a real man but nonetheless, his talent was finally recognized and the following decade was his most prolific, including his masterpiece, the Gates of Hell. Rodin opened a retrospective of his work at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900 which brought in commissions from around the world and made him one of the most internationally famous artists of the early 20th century.

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