Rodin’s Gates of Hell: Sources & Process

    **Desire**, **judgment**, **becoming**—Dante’s themes flood a portal that never stops **changing**.

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    ### Sources & Migrations

    - Figures move between **reliefs** and **freestanding** versions.  
    - Spin‑offs: **The Thinker**, **The Kiss**, **Fugitives**.  
    - The gate is an **atlas** more than a door.

    > The portal is a **thinking machine**—ideas circulate, return, and intensify.

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    ### Process Lab (Clay → Plaster → Bronze)

    - Re‑casting and **assemblage** realign fragments into new dramas.  
    - **Visible seams** honor **truth to process**.  
    - Final bronzes are **memory with multiplicity**.

    | Stage | Material | Purpose |
    |---|---|---|
    | Modeling | Clay | Find gesture |
    | Study | Plaster | Test scale + light |
    | Final | Bronze | Durability + detail |

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    ### Reading Strategy

    Build a triangle of attention:  
    1. Upper register (vision).  
    2. Middle field (struggle).  
    3. Lower verge (threshold).  
    Shift stance—oblique light summons **micro‑narratives**.

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    ### Context & Background

    - Commissioned for a **decorative arts museum** that never fully materialized.  
    - A **workshop** more than a single piece: modules spawn **new works**.  
    - Over decades, the **layout** and **figures** morph—embracing **open form**.

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    ### Deeper Dive: Relief as Architecture

    Relief compresses space yet **expands narrative**. Rodin stacks **planes** to stage **emotion gradients**; shadows become **actors**. Fragments step **out** of the gate into autonomous lives—a **studio ecosystem** of ideas.

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    ### Quick Facts

    | Item | Detail |
    |---|---|
    | Literary Source | Dante’s Inferno |
    | Figures | 200+ across versions |
    | Offshoots | Thinker, Kiss, Ugolino |
    | Best Light | Oblique, late afternoon |

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    ### FAQs

    - **Is there a definitive version?** No: the Gates are an **open work** across time.  
    - **Why visible seams?** Rodin honors **process**—joins are **truth markers**.  
    - **How to read it?** Move slowly; pick **one figure** and trace its **journey**.

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    ### Pro Tips

    - Scan from **bottom to top**; thresholds set **tone**.  
    - Photograph at **angle** to avoid glare; seek **shadow relief**.  
    - Compare garden bronze with **indoor plaster** (if on display).