Rodin's Thinker as a Golem: Art, Myth, and the Curse of Consciousness

Richard Leydier, writing for artpress, draws a parallel between Auguste Rodin's The Thinker and the mythical golem. Visiting the Picasso-Rodin exhibition split between the Musée Rodin and Musée Picasso in Paris (closed due to COVID-19, originally scheduled until January 2, 2022), Leydier reflects on the plaster version of The Thinker (first reduced version 1888) displayed at the Musée Picasso. He notes that plaster and bronze are fundamentally different, with artist Stéphane Pencréac'h explaining that bronze casting requires many molds. Leydier argues Rodin created a golem: a creature from Talmudic legend, first shaped from clay by Rabbi Yehudah Loew in 16th-century Prague to protect the Jewish community. The golem is a slave, inscribed with EMET (truth) on its forehead; erasing the first E yields MET (death). This myth echoes Adam's creation, Pygmalion, and Marvel's The Thing from Fantastic Four. Rodin's Thinker, however, is a golem granted thought—a curse akin to original sin, condemned to ponder existence. Rodin himself said sculpture represents not just muscles but the life and power that shape them. The exhibition features works by both artists across two museums.