Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) was a French sculptor. In 1880, he was awarded the commission to create a portal for the planned Museum of Decorative Arts. Although the museum was never built, Rodin worked for 37 years on this monumental sculptural group, "The Gates of Hell", depicting scenes from Dante's Inferno in high relief.

Many of his best-known sculptures, like "The Thinker" (Le Penseur, representing the poet Dante), "The Three Shades" (Les Trois Ombres), and "The Kiss" (Le Baiser) were designed as figures for this monumental landscape of eternal passion and punishment, and only later presented as works in their own right.

In 1984, Miss Piggy and Kermit spoofed "The Kiss" as "The Smooch" in Miss Piggy's Art Masterpiece Calendar.