Watercolors by Auguste Rodin, April 6-[30] 1944

Born in 1840 in Paris, François Auguste René Rodin was a French sculptor generally considered to be the founder of modern sculpture. He is known for such sculptures as The Thinker, Monument to Balzac, The Kiss, The Burghers of Calais, and The Gates of Hell, many of which the Legion of Honor holds reproductions of in their permanent collections.

Many of Rodin's most notable sculptures were criticized, as they clashed with predominant figurative sculpture traditions in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic. Although Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, he refused to change his style, and his continued output brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community.

From the unexpected naturalism of Rodin's first major figure – inspired by his 1875 trip to Italy – to the unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought, his reputation grew, and Rodin became the preeminent French sculptor of his time. By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Rodin's work after his World's Fair exhibit (Exposition Universelle) in Paris, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. His student, Camille Claudel, became his associate, lover, and creative rival. Rodin's other students included Antoine Bourdelle, Constantin Brâncuși, and Charles Despiau. He married his lifelong companion, Rose Beuret, in the last year of both their lives. His sculptures suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades his legacy solidified. Rodin remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside the visual arts community.

Legion co-founder Alma de Bretteville Spreckels became a patron of his in the final years of his life. It was her goal in founding the museum to introduce Rodin’s art to the west coast as well as to hold the finest collection of his work in the United States. Today, the Fine Arts Museums hold over 160 works by Rodin in their permanent collections and have dozens of his works on permanent display in the museum, including a gallery devoted to him as well as a bust of The Thinker in the museum’s Court of Honor.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Rodin