Many of us are familiar with the statue of The Thinker in the grounds of Bakırköy Psychiatric Hospital in Istanbul. For me, it is a work of art with a very special place in my heart because of what it makes you feel at first sight. The fact that the statue was completed by patients is a lovely piece of history that ties it so closely to Bakırköy Psychiatric Hospital. Copies of Rodin’s The Thinker can be found outside institutions and in public squares around the world. Yet, in my personal opinion, none could have a story that fits the work as well as the one in Turkey. If Auguste Rodin were alive, I imagine he would be deeply moved by how beautifully the story of The Thinker’s arrival and creation at Bakırköy resonates with his sculpture.
