Auguste Rodin

Hello. My name is Auguste Rodin. I want to tell you my story. I was born in a beautiful city called Paris on November 12th, 1840. It was a long, long time ago. Ever since I was a little boy, I loved to draw pictures of everything I saw. I also loved to make things with my very own hands. My favorite thing to play with was soft, squishy clay. I would squeeze it and roll it and build little shapes. Creating things with my hands made me feel so happy inside. It was my favorite game.

When I grew up, I became a sculptor. Do you know what a sculptor is? It’s like being a builder who makes art. Instead of making tall buildings, I made statues out of clay and stone. Around the year 1880, I made my most famous statue. I called him The Thinker. He is a strong man sitting very still, with his chin on his hand. He looks like he is thinking very big and important thoughts. I wanted all my statues to look like they had real feelings inside. I tried to make them look happy, or sometimes sad, or thoughtful, just like we all feel sometimes. I believed that even when a statue is quiet and still, it can tell a big story about feelings.

I made art for my whole life because I loved it very much. I lived to be 77 years old. Today, my sculptures are in big buildings called museums all over the world. People can go and see them, reminding them that art can be full of life and big feelings.