Auguste Rodin advised Rilke to b. go to the zoo.
While Rainer Maria Rilke was living in Paris at the beginning of the twentieth century, he worked for Auguste Rodin, a famous French sculptor. In 1905, Rilke needed help to boost his creativity; therefore, he asked for Rodin's advice, who told him to go to the zoo in order for him to observe whatever was happening there. Moreover, the sculptor advised Rilke to choose an animal from the zoo and to observe it for a long time without thinking about something to write.