Restoration of The Thinker

In June 2024, The Thinker exhibited in the gardens of the Musée Rodin in Paris is restored to protect the surface of the work from the elements and atmospheric pollution. The previous operation was carried out in 2016..

The restoration of The Thinker will take place in the gardens of the Hôtel Biron from 3 to 16 June 2024.

Firsty, the stone base will be cleaned, using a biocide - a product that destroys organic matter that develops on the stone - no doubt supplemented by a micro-sandblasting operation. The latter will remove some of the corrosion residue that has rubbed off onto the stone, using a low-powered spray of apricot kernel powde

The bronze sculpture itself will then be restored. The Thinker will be cleaned and stripped of the layers of microcrystalline wax that protect it, then cleaned of the corrosion products that cover it to finally be protected again by a clean, new wax film. The application of this wax - hot and then cold - creates an invisible, impermeable protective film over the entire surface of the bronze.

In order to find the wax best suited to the environment in which The Thinker is exhibited, waxes of different compositions are being tested on eight strips of bronze. Installed in the museum's gardens in mid-February until the sculpture is restored, these tests will enable the most stable and protective wax to be chosen.