Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin was a French sculptor who was rejected three times by the École des Beaux-Arts and worked for years as a craftsman before his work was recognised. His modelled figures, with their rough surfaces and expressive movement, broke with academic sculpture and are seen as the beginning of modern sculpture. The Thinker and The Kiss both began as parts of The Gates of Hell, a portal he worked on for decades, and a cast of The Burghers of Calais stands in Victoria Tower Gardens beside the Houses of Parliament. He gave a group of his works to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1914, and his Paris house and studio are now the Musée Rodin.