In 1880, the French government commissioned Rodin to create a set of decorative doors for a planned Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. While the museum was never built, Rodin continued to obsessively work on the project for until his death in 1917.
The primary theme was drawn from Dante Alighieri’s Inferno , specifically the first part of the Divine Comedy . He was also influenced by Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal and Ovid’s Metamorphoses .
A group of three identical figures at the very top whose arms point downward toward the gates, signaling the hopelessness of those who enter.
The bronze doors stand over 6 meters (20 feet) tall and feature more than 200 tormented human figures writhing in suffering and despair. Key Figures:
Depicted in their eternal struggle, these figures eventually became the basis for The Kiss .
