AUGUSTE RODIN (1840 - 1917) Rodin was born into a working class family in Paris on November 12, 1840. Because he was not admitted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Rodin became an apprentice to the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier Belleuse. It was during this time that he learned to sculpt and began creating his own sculptures. By 1880, he had become a well-known sculptor in France, exhibiting frequently in the Paris Salons and receiving many commissions.

Although much of his work is highly allegorical, including his masterpiece The Gates of HellRodin focused increasingly on capturing human expression and movement, often through erotic subject matter, as his artistic career progressed.