What was the name of Auguste Rodin’s father, who worked as a police clerk?

Auguste Rodin’s father, a police clerk, was named Jean-Baptiste Rodin.

Rodin was born into a working-class Parisian family, and his father’s occupation placed the household within the lower middle class of nineteenth-century Paris. Knowing this background helps explain why Rodin’s artistic training developed through practical schools and studio work rather than through easy entry into elite academic institutions.

Rodin’s father is sometimes confused with the artist’s full name, François-Auguste-René Rodin. Those names refer to different family members: Jean-Baptiste was his father, while François-Auguste-René was the sculptor himself.

Rodin later became one of France’s most celebrated sculptors, but his early career included rejection by the École des Beaux-Arts and years of craft training. His family background is therefore an important part of the contrast between his origins and later fame.