While in Philadelphia, Ed and I visited the Rodin Museum, one of the world's great collections of works by Auguste Rodin, and the only dedicated Rodin Museum outside France.
The museum was a gift of movie theater magnate Jules Mastbaum to the city of Philadelphia. According to Wikipedia, "he began collecting works by Rodin in 1923 with the intent of founding a museum. Within three years, he assembled the largest collection of Rodin's works outside Paris, including bronze castings, plaster studies, drawings, prints, letters, and books. The museum houses a collection of nearly 150 objects."
This sculpture sits outside the courtyard of the entrance to the museum. The plaque beside it says":
"The Thinker. 1880-81, Enlarged 1902-1904. Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). Rodin first imagined The Thinker as a small figure near the top of The Gates of Hell, a sculpture now installed at the Rodin Museum entrance. The Gates of Hell is based on The Inferno, an epic poem by the Italian poet Dante, and Rodin conceived the contemplative figure as representing the poet's creative force.
Rodin later enlarged The Thinker to monumental scale. In this form, it has come to symbolize all creative thought. The arrangement here, with an architectural façade behind the sculpture, matches Rodin's gravesite near Paris. The bronze cast, made in 1919, was donated to Philadelphia by movie theater magnate Jules Mastbaum."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2023: Sorry, no post on this day.
2022: Sorry, no post on this day.
2021: Sorry, no post on this day.
2020: Sorry, no post on this day.
2019: Sorry, no post on this day.
2018: Museum Quality
2017: Aisle Of Palms
2016: A Lively Evening
2015: 106 Years Of Racing Has Happened Here
2014: Towering Jewel
2013: Port Townsend Honor System
2012: This I Love
2011: Wooden Shoes, Tulips, And Now This?
2010: Universal AND Contagious
2009: Ed Smiles With The Pasties Girl Friday
2008: Who Needs A Man When You Have A Kindle??
2007: Phone Calls And Fellatio
2006: Color Ring
2005: We Go All Out!