Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker first appeared as a large independent monument in 1904.
Rodin originally conceived the seated figure around 1880 as part of The Gates of Hell, a monumental project inspired partly by Dante’s Divine Comedy. In that setting, the figure was known as The Poet and was intended to sit above the doors, contemplating the scenes below. The work’s meaning broadened as Rodin developed it.
The larger version shown in 1904 attracted major attention and helped establish The Thinker as an independent symbol of intellectual concentration. Its muscular body is as prominent as its inward-looking pose, combining physical power with mental activity.
The date can cause confusion because smaller versions and related forms existed earlier. The 1904 event concerns the large independent presentation, not the first appearance of the figure in the project for The Gates of Hell. Numerous authorized casts were made later in different sizes and materials.