The Thinker
<p><i><b>The Thinker</b></i> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a>: <i><b>Le Penseur</b></i>) is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_sculpture" title="Bronze sculpture">bronze sculpture</a> by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Rodin" title="Auguste Rodin">Auguste Rodin</a>, usually placed on a stone <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestal" title="Pedestal">pedestal</a>. The work shows a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nude" class="mw-redirect" title="Nude">nude</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male" title="Male">male</a> figure of over life-size sitting on a rock with his chin resting on one hand as though deep in thought and is often used as an image to represent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a>. There are about 28 full size <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_bronze" class="mw-redirect" title="Cast bronze">castings</a>, in which the figure is about 186 centimetres (73 in) high, though not all were made during Rodin's lifetime and under his supervision; as well as various other versions, several in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaster" title="Plaster">plaster</a>, studies, and posthumous castings, in a range of sizes. Rodin first conceived the figure as part of another work in 1880, but the first of the familiar monumental bronze castings did not appear until 1904.</p>
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<i>The Thinker</i> has been cast in multiple versions and is found around the world, but the history is complicated of the progression from models to castings and is still not entirely clear. About 28 monumental-sized bronze casts are in museums and public places. In addition, there are sculptures of different study-sized scales and plaster versions (often painted bronze) in both monumental and study sizes. Some newer castings have been produced posthumously and are not considered part of the original production.
Rodin made the first small plaster version around 1881. The first full-scale model was presented at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1904. A public subscription from Rodin admirers allowed a bronze casting to be made in 1906. It became property of the City of Paris. and was put in front of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panth%C3%A9on" title="Panthéon" >Panthéon</a>. <sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" ><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-3" >[3]</a></sup> In 1922, it was moved to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_Biron" title="Hôtel Biron" >Hôtel Biron</a>, which had been transformed into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Rodin" title="Musée Rodin" >Rodin Museum</a>.
A bronze cast of the sculpture can be found in front of Grawemeyer Hall on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Louisville" title="University of Louisville" >University of Louisville</a> Belknap Campus in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville,Kentucky" title="Louisville, Kentucky" >Louisville, Kentucky</a>. It was made in Paris and was first displayed at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.Louis_World%27s_Fair" class="mw-redirect" title="St. Louis World's Fair" >St. Louis World's Fair</a> in 1904, then given to the city. This sculpture was the only cast created by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost-wax_casting" title="Lost-wax casting" >lost-wax casting</a> method.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" ><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker#cite_note-4" >[4]</a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" >citation needed</a></i>]</sup></p>