Rodin Museum A Powerful, Relaxing Must-Visit In Paris
One of the many magnets of Paris is the city's vast trove of great art. From the Louvre to the Montmartre District to the city's galleries, museums and outdoor installations, Paris is an art lover's paradise.
Who are the most famous artists whose work you can see in Paris? Number one, of course, would be Leonardo da Vinci, whose Mona Lisa at the Louvre is always surrounded by a gawking mob. The crowds got so bad that the staff at the Louvre recently held an impromptu strike motivated by over-tourism.
Then there's Vincent van Gogh, whose famed self-portrait and "Starry Night Over the Rhône" are in the Musée d'Orsay. Claude Monet's 'Water Lilies' is at the Musée de l'Orangerie, as are works by Renoir, Matisse and Picasso. 'David Hockney 25,' a popular show running through August 31, honors living master Hockney with an exhibit of 400 of his works at FOUNDATION LOUIS VUITTON.
But none of these luminaries have a big Parisian museum and garden devoted solely to their work. Nor are these artists considered among the most famous sculptors of their time.
That honor goes to Auguste Rodin, (1840-1917). A few of his masterpieces at the Rodin Museum include Monument to Balzac, Danaid, The Age of Bronze, Monument to the Burghers of Calais, The Gates of Hell, and of course, The Thinker.
Rodin Museum (Paris)
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The museum is located at 77 Rue de Varenne, in easy walking distance of the Tuileries and the Seine. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10AM to 6:30PM. Admission is 14 euros, although various passes and 'two-fers' like a combined ticket for the Musée Rodin + Musée d'Orsay for 25 euro are available.
Much of Rodin's journey is shown at the museum. Rodin the man doesn't quite come alive at his museum in Paris, but his statues do. His work almost vibrates with energy, as you see a head or a foot emerging from the stone. The museum shows off multiple plaster casts and sculptures of feet and hands, as Rodin was constantly working to achieve realistic detail.
Yet it has also been said that 'Rodin knew when to stop polishing.' Indeed, many of his works rise out of rough, seemingly unfinished stone, even classic pieces like 'The Kiss.'
Rodin said his approach to sculpting women was to portray them 'as full partners in ardor,' but such eroticism made his works controversial. A bronze version of 'The Kiss' sent to an 1893 Exposition in Chiago was hidden from the general public as 'unsuitable,' shown only on special request.
Rodin is best-known for The Thinker and The Kiss , but the museum and the sculpture gardens reveal his fluency in plaster, stone, marble and bronze, as well as his drawing and painting. The museum also includes paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet which Rodin collected . In the 1980's, the museum acquired works by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (The Scream) who was heavily influenced by Rodin.
The museum is by no means as crowded as the Louvre, but it can get a little stuffy inside. That's when it's time to step out into the cool green gardens and wander among the powerful bronzes.
The Thinker, which has pride of place outside in the sculpture garden, dominates the space but may be the least dynamic of all the pieces. The rectangular gardens cover seven acres. The green retreat includes a fountain, rose gardens, lawns, and tree shaded areas where sculptures are displayed. Exhausted art lovers can sit in the shade at a bench or a table at the small café.
One of the most striking works in the gardens (other than The Thinker) is the Gates of Hell. In 1880 Rodin got a commission to create a bronze door for the Museum of Decorative Arts. The door, inspired by Dante's Inferno and later known as The Gates of Hell was commissioned for delivery in 1884. It was still unfinished at Rodin's death in 1917. Yet it would serve as source material for his most famous work, such as The Burghers of Calais, The Kiss, and The Thinker itself.
The Burghers of Calais commemorates the six nobles who volunteered to hand over the keys to the city of Calais to the victorious King of England at the end of the siege of 1346-47.These men face their death (each, barefoot, wears a rope around their neck) with their faces showing a timeless mixture of emotions, from nobility to despair, agony and acceptance.
On a lighter note, the great French writer Balzac comes to life in his plump glory, wearing the bathrobe he wore to write, his great head surveying passersby.
The garden is a peaceful space where visitors can enjoy the sculptures amidst nature. There is also a pleasant café where food and ice cream are served. A pair of ducks wandered among the art lovers the day we were there.
Rodin, from a poor family, went to a school to learn drawing and modeling skills at 13. He tried three times to enter the highly competitive Ecole des Beaux-Arts but failed the competitive examinations three times. At 18, he decided to earn his living by doing decorative stonework. He worked with other sculptors on decorative bronzes and did decorations to monuments in Brussels.
Dismissed by a mentor, he traveled to Florence, Rome, Naples, and Venice, where he gained inspiration from the work of great sculptors like Michelangelo and Donatello. He exhibited his first original work, The Age of Bronze, in Brussels and Paris. The emotional pain and the realism of the subject figure, so different from contemporary sculpture, led to accusations that he molded it on a living model. Rodin finally started getting significant commissions in his late 30's, with his most significant period of work being from around 1880 to 1910.
Before his death, Rodin bequeathed all his works and possessions to France. The gift was debated and finally approved in the French parliament.
Rodin wrote in 1909.'I bequeath to the state all my works in plaster, marble, bronze and stone, together with my drawings and the collection of antiquities that I had such pleasure in assembling for the education and training of artists and workers. And I ask the state to keep all these collections in the Hôtel Biron, which will be the Musée Rodin, reserving the right to reside there for the rest of my life.'
The state purchased the hotel and committed to turning it into a museum dedicated to the artist, with one of the most beautiful gardens in Paris.
The property today incudes the museum, the gardens, a lovely gift shop and a children's creative space, The Atelier Rodin, for children to explore sculpture through play and creativity. It's free for children accompanied by an adult. Children can model and create, and experience the joy of assembly and balance, as Rodin did.
'In the 1860s, when Rodin began making sculpture, art was deeply rooted in the past. It told stories from religion, history, myth, and literature, and it told them as if the artist had been a witness to the events. Just thirty years later, by the peak of his career, the 1890s, Auguste Rodin had transformed sculpture into something that today we call modern, that spoke to the artist's and viewer's emotions and imaginations,' according to the Cantor Foundation, which distributes Rodin's work to museums and did a film Rodin: The Gates of Hell.
'By the time Rodin died in 1917 he had through prodigious talent and a remarkable volume of work, challenged the established styles of his youth and revolutionized sculpture. Today his pioneering work is a crucial link between traditional and modern art.'
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