I invent nothing, I rediscover. — Auguste Rodin

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I invent nothing, I rediscover. — Auguste Rodin · Smartyfair

I invent nothing, I rediscover.

Source foundCreativity

In plain words

He said he invented nothing, only rediscovered what already existed. The good ideas were there all along, but people had just forgotten them.

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How sure this is: 90% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: Camille Mauclair, Auguste Rodin: The Man, His Ideas, His Works (1905, trans. Clementina Black), p. 60-61 — Rodin's spoken words as Mauclair records them.
Work: Auguste Rodin: The Man, His Ideas, His Works (Camille Mauclair, 1905)
Occasion: 1905 · Paris, France · explaining why his art only seemed new — he was returning to nature's old truths, not inventing
Sources checked: gutenberg.orgChecked using claude-fable-5, 22 August 2026Full text fetched and grepped this pass. Primary prints '"I invent nothing," he says; "I rediscover."' — stored text joins the two spoken clauses with a comma (Wikiquote's rendering). Continuation explains the point (people forgot art's old aims); no reversal.