French sculptor born in Paris, creator of some of the most famous works of universal sculpture. Born into a family of few means, he studied drawing and modeling from the age of 13, but failed three times (1958) in the entrance exam to the School of Fine Arts, and then began to work as a molder, making objects ornamentals. He joined Rose Beuret (1864), model of the first sculptural portraits and from whom he would never part.
He worked with Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse on the decoration of monuments in Brussels and, while visiting Rome and Florence, fell in love with the sculptures of Donatello and Michelangelo. After having turned down his first work sent to an official salon, The Man with the Broken Nose (1864), he became averse to exhibitions. Despite a difficult beginning, he established himself as a sculptor with a later work, St. John the Baptist Preaching (1878).
Then came famous works such as The Thinker (1880), The Kiss (1886), The Prodigal Son (1889), The Citizens of Calais (1884-1886). Frequently involved in love problems, he had as scandalous the romance he started (1885) with student Camille Claudel, which ended tragically. He also sculpted many commissioned busts such as those by Victor Hugo (1886-1909), Octave Mirbeau (1889), Puvis de Chavannes (1891) and Clemenceau (1911). In the last years of his life (1908-1917) the sculptor moved to the Hôtel Biron, a Parisian palace from the 18th century, transformed after his death in Meudon, in the Rodin Museum.
Emeritus portraitist, mastering bronze and marble, he was accused of formalism due to the anatomical rigor of his pieces, as his perfection was such. figures accused him of using living models as a mold, but he became admired by the European elite and considered a glory of France.
Source: http://www.dec.ufcg.edu.br/biografias/
Order R - Biography - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/rene-francois-auguste.htm