Auguste Rodin

(Paris 1840 - 1917 Meudon)

Rodin studies at the École des Arts Décoratifs from 1855 until 1864 before working at the Sèvres porcelain factory until 1871. That year, he is in Belgium; in 1875–77, he travels to Florence and Rome and tours France. In 1877, critics accuse Rodin of having taken a cast from a living model for his sculpture The Age of Bronze. In 1880, the French government commissions The Gates of Hell. In 1883, he meets the sculptor Camille Claudel. The ensemble The Burghers of Calais occupies him from 1884 until 1889. In 1890, he moves to Bellevue near Sèvres. The Gates of Hell is first exhibited in public. In 1891–98, he creates a statue of Balzac. After 1894, Rodin lives in Meudon.