Auguste Rodin was a French sculptor widely considered the father of modern sculpture, famous for works like The Thinker and The Kiss — both originally conceived as figures within a single monumental, unfinished doorway called The Gates of Hell. He shaped rough, expressive clay and bronze figures that captured deep emotion and movement, breaking away from smooth, idealized classical sculpture, despite being rejected three times from Paris's top art school as a young man. His bold, powerful style influenced sculptors for generations afterward.