The Buenos Aires streets of Buenos Aires They are a true artistic treasure and curiosities that you can’t miss. Full of sculptures and monuments, they are an interesting attraction for art lovers without spending a single cent. One of the most notable treasures is “The Thinker” of Augusto Rodinone of the most famous works of the French artist found in the Mariano Moreno Squarea few meters from National Congress.
This sculpture, which is part of the sculpture group “The Gate of Hell” in Paris, It is one of the three originals that has Rodin’s signature. Although it was made in 1881, it has been in the square for 117 years and has become a true survivor, resisting both the inclement weather and the numerous citizen protests that take place in that historic place.
The Thinker It is a naked man sitting on rocks, with his head resting on one of his arms in an attitude of thought. This sculpture was originally designed for the entrance of the National Congressbut since the Palace was not yet finished, it was provisionally placed in the neighboring square, where it remained permanently. “What makes my thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his frown, with his distended nostrils and compressed lips, with every muscle in his arms, back and legs, with his clenched fist and his toes grabbed,” he said Rodin about his work.
The Mariano Moreno Square is part of the Congress Squarea set of three seats that was designed by Carlos Thays in 1910. In addition to The Thinkerin these squares there is also the monolith of the Kilometer Zerowhich marks the beginning of all the national routes that cross the country, and the busts of Mariano Moreno y Jose Manuel Estrada. A historic walk that also has the Lyceum Theaterthe oldest in the city.
Before being known as The thinker, the sculpture was titled The poet. The figure was conceived as a creator who observed the damned—those represented in Alighieri’s text—wandering through the different circles of hell. This original piece only measured 70 centimeters and it was in 1903 when it was reproduced on a larger scale: almost 1.90 m. From there, the sculpture acquired the fame that it still retains today.
The installation of The Thinker in front of the Pantheon in Paris, in 1906, was a complete success. In 1922, the sculpture was moved to the Rodin Museum from that same French city.
How Rodin’s Thinker arrived in Buenos Aires
Thanks to the management of the first director of the National Museum of Fine Artspainter and art historian Eduardo Schiaffinoa copy of the French work that came directly from Paris, in 1907. Although it was going to be located on the steps of the National Congressthe delay in the construction of the building meant that the piece – cast in bronze from the original mold and which also bears the signature of Rodin—will remain permanently installed in Mariano Moreno adjacent, behind the main façade of the building. It was exhibited for the first time during the Centennial of the May Revolution in 1910..
Eduardo Schiaffinopainter, critic and first director of our National Museum of Fine Artshe passed by the Parisian Pantheon in 1906, where that piece was, and did not hesitate: the steps of the Argentine Congress should have its Thinker. The sculpture arrived from France in 1907, made in bronze with the original mold and signed by Rodin.