The Gates of Hell

La Porte de l'Enfer (English translation: The Gates of Hell) is a monumental sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin. It stands at 21 feet high, 13 feet wide and 3 feet deep and contains 180 figures. The figures range from 6 inches high up to 4 feet.

History

Commissioned by the Directorate of Fine Arts in 1880. It was meant to be delivered in 1885.

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Rodin would continue to work on and off this project for 37 years, until his death in 1917.

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The Directorate asked for an inviting entrance to a planned Decorative Arts Museum. The theme was left to Rodin's selection. Rodin admired Dante and was subjugated by the reading of the Inferno. He had sketches of some of Dante's characters before the commission.

Related Topics:
Dante - Inferno

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The Decoratives Arts Museum was never built. Rodin worked on this project on the ground floor of the Hôtel Biron. Near the end of his life, Rodin donated sculptures, drawings and reproduction rights to the French government. In 1919, two years after Rodin death, The Hôtel Biron became the Musée Rodin housing a cast of The Gates of Hell and related works.

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