Rodin is often credited with bringing naturalism and realism to sculpture, moving away from the neoclassical tradition of idealized forms. His works are celebrated for their raw and powerful depictions of human experience. Rodin was largely self-taught. Despite being rejected three times by the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, he persevered and developed his unique style through personal study and practice.

Before achieving fame, Rodin faced many years of obscurity and financial hardship. He worked as an ornamentor, creating decorative pieces for buildings to support himself. His first major success came with The Age of Bronze (1877), which was initially controversial for being too realistic. Critics accused him of casting it directly from a model, but the work eventually established his reputation for lifelike sculpture.

His experimental sculpture of French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac, which was commissioned by the Society of Men of Letters, was also controversial. He worked on the sculpture for years, casting as many as 50 versions of it, before presenting a modernist sculpture to the Society. They were outraged and Rodin was shamed by his contemporaries for it – he was so humiliated that he eventually paid the society for the statue and moved it into his own home. It’s now considered a masterpiece.