Visit to Rodin Museum, Paris

If I won the lottery, I would fly to Paris…specifically to see the Rodin Museum (Musee Rodin) at 79 Rue de Varenne.

You thought I was going to say the Eiffel Tower, didn’t you.

I am serious…for me, Musee Rodin is at the top of the list of things to see in Paris, France.

So, let’s go on a mini tour.

(Hint: click on any photo to enlarge it.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Thinker/Le Penseur

Yes, of course, we are going to see the Thinker…in a variety of sizes.

(above we see him  in the gardens of the museum)

But we are getting ahead of  ourselves!

First we have to purchase our tickets and then join the line to enter the museum. (Fortunately it is not that long today so come on in.)

Then we have the option of heading into the special exhibits building or heading out into the courtyard. It looks like it might rain so let’s head outside first…et,voila!

There is the Thinker. (refer to the photo above.)

Regardez…there is hardly anyone in line to enter the main building, so allez . (let’s get there quickly.)

Take your time as you climb up the stairs in the stately entry.

Note: As the museum is undergoing renovations it is only partially open until September, 2015.

However…there still is plenty to see. Probably could take us half a day just to skim the surface!

 In this first room we see and learn about the early works of Rodin.

I was familiar with the sculpture Young Girl with Flowers in Her Hair but still enjoy walking around it several times to view it from different angles.

However…I was not familiar with the story behind this sculpture.

Nor did I realize the importance of Rodin’s commission to design a bronze door for a proposed museum. Here is one of Rodin’s maquettes (preliminary designs) for that door.

(Hint: click on the photo to enlarge it OR better yet, go to the musee Rodin website where you can move your mouse over the photo to see details even clearer.)

Notice the little number in the left hand bottom corner of the display case.

That is the number we have to punch into our audio guide to hear about this piece.

(Ask one of the efficient docents if you are having trouble with the audio guide. Hand signals and facial expressions work well if you do not speak French.)

The marguette is covered with designs which later were reworked by Rodin into larger individual pieces. The Thinker is one of the designs on The Gates of Hell door.

So is The Kiss.

It is my humble opinion that The Kiss is one of the most sensuous sculptures in the world. How can stone be used convey such softness and tenderness? How can one feel such strength and at the same time…

What? Oh, yes, I guess I have been admiring it for a long time!

Oh, look at the statue on the right.

That’s Ugolino and his Children, another of the designs first found on the Gates of Hell.

Moving on to Room 3…see, I told you this was going to take a long time!

Fast forward to The Burghers of Calais.

 Listen to your audio guide when you visit the museum to learn the story behind this piece.

(I know, that is rather wicked of me isn’t it. But I really do want you to visit.)

Remember that title…The Burghers of Calais.

Have a look out this window. Those are the gardens we will stroll through shortly.

There are more sculptures out in the gardens.

Regardez…washrooms. Excellent. 

Aside: I wonder why washrooms/toilettes in public buildings in France is not “a given”.

One last photo to share this trip

The painting in the background is by Edvard Munch and is called

Rodin’s Thinker in Dr. Linde’s Garden in Lubeck.

Aside: So many of Rodin’s sculptures are intentionally “unfinished”.  (Regardez the sculpture in the foreground.) That’s a powerful technique, is it not.

Okay, let’s move on.

Do you want to go out into the gardens?

or shall we visit the special exhibit in the first building? There is a time limited exposition comparing and contrasting two artists use of sculpture and photography.

Yes, Mapplethorpe (the photographer) and Rodin (the sculptor).

Excellent exhibit, wasn’t it.

Wonder what the next exhibit will be.

Update: November, 2015

Renovations on the Hotel Biron are now complete so the Rodin Museum is fully open again. It reopened on Auguste Rodin’s 175 birthday.

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Happy travels!