Which literary work inspired Auguste Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker?

The Divine Comedy inspired Auguste Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker.

Rodin originally conceived the figure as a representation of Dante, the Italian poet and author of The Divine Comedy. The figure was intended to sit above The Gates of Hell and contemplate the suffering figures and dramatic scenes below. Rodin first called the work The Poet, reflecting this connection.

The sculpture later became known as The Thinker and acquired a broader meaning. Rather than representing only Dante, it came to symbolize intellectual concentration, creativity, and the burden of thought. The muscular body also distinguishes Rodin’s interpretation from a purely abstract image of meditation.

The Thinker is often treated as an independent sculpture, but its origin in The Gates of Hell remains important. Numerous bronze casts and versions exist, and their sizes and dates differ. This is why descriptions of “the original” can be confusing: the first small model, the enlarged figure, and later casts are not identical objects.