Auguste Rodin used a variety of materials for his sculptures, including bronze, marble, plaster and clay. One of his most famous works, The Thinker, is a bronze piece mounted on a stone pedestal.

Rodin was trained as a modeler, and he created his work first in clay. When he was satisfied with what he created, craftspeople were assigned to create replicas of the master’s model, first in clay or in plaster, and from these, in stone (carvings) or in metal (usually bronze, thus castings).