The Gates of Hell

Rodin was commissioned to create the monumental sculptural group in 1880 for a decorative arts museum in Paris, but the museum was never built. He continued to work on the doors, which were inspired by Dante's Inferno, for nearly 40 years until his death in 1917. Rodin constantly revised the project, never feeling it was fully resolved.

The Thinker was originally conceived in 1880 as the central figure sitting atop The Gates of Hell. The figure was initially meant to represent Dante observing the tormented souls below him. Several other famous independent Rodin works, like The Kiss, also originated as figures planned for this massive portal.

The first bronze cast of the unfinished Gates of Hell was completed in 1928 and is housed at the Musée Rodin in Paris. The museum was created in the former Hôtel Biron to showcase Rodin's life's work. A second cast can be viewed at the Kunsthaus Zürich in Switzerland.

The elaborate doors heavily depict scenes of suffering and despair inspired by Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem, the Inferno. Rodin also drew inspiration from Charles Baudelaire's poetry collection, Les Fleurs du mal. This dark, psychological subject matter allowed Rodin to explore the raw emotions of human agony and desire.