The artist must have the patience of water that eats away the rock…

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The artist must have the patience of water that eats away the rock… — Auguste Rodin · Smartyfair

The artist must have the patience of water that eats away the rock drop by drop.

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In plain words

Talent needs patience. Keep at your work drop by drop, the way water slowly wears away a rock.

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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: Judith Cladel, Rodin: The Man and His Art (trans. S.K. Star, The Century Co., 1917), p. 7 — Rodin's direct quoted speech.
Work: Rodin: The Man and His Art (Judith Cladel, 1917)
Occasion: 1917 · France · recalling that he drew from early childhood — but the gift was nothing without the will to work at it
Sources checked: gutenberg.orgChecked using claude-fable-5, 22 August 2026Full text fetched and grepped this pass; verbatim, direct quoted speech ('he says'). Preceding clause: 'the gift is nothing without the will to make it worth while.' Shares the water-wears-stone image with Ovid's history_v1 line but makes a distinct claim (the artist's patience) — considered, kept.