The Gates of Hell

A monumental bronze portal by Auguste Rodin, begun in 1880 and inspired by Dante’s Inferno. Its crowded figures portray human suffering at the entrance to the underworld.

Dante's Inferno: The first part of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, depicting a journey through nine circles of Hell. The poem supplied the portal’s underworld setting and many of its figures.
Assemblage (art): An artwork made by joining or arranging separate objects or parts. Rodin composed the portal by combining and repositioning sculptural figures.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs: A Paris museum devoted to decorative arts, design, and applied arts. The state commissioned the portal for a museum that was never built.
The Burghers of Calais: A bronze monument by Rodin portraying six citizens who offered themselves to save Calais in 1347. Rodin developed its emotionally varied figures while working on the portal.
Auguste Rodin: A French sculptor whose expressive modeling helped shape modern sculpture. Rodin designed and repeatedly revised the portal over several decades.
Relief sculpture: Sculpture in which figures project from a supporting background surface. Most figures emerge from the portal’s broad, shallow architectural surface.
Paris World’s Fair of 1889: An international exposition held in Paris to mark the centenary of the French Revolution. Rodin exhibited a plaster version of the unfinished portal at the exposition.
Monumental sculpture: Large-scale sculpture designed for public display or an architectural setting. The portal’s size and intended architectural role connect it to monumental sculpture.
Bronze sculpture: Sculpture made by casting molten bronze in a prepared mold. The monumental work is known through bronze casts made from Rodin’s model.
The Thinker: A bronze sculpture by Rodin showing a seated, contemplative nude male figure. This figure began as the portal’s central poet and later became an independent work.

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Museo SoumayaBroader topic: Museo Soumaya holds a bronze cast of this central work in Rodin’s career.