Paris1972-Versailles2003

I bring you back to a museum in Paris. I was just driving on bd des Invalides when I first notice and got a peek. It is a popular museum and great art inside worth the detour. I found me older new pics to my blog in my cd rom vault and they should be here ; couple with older ones I made update this post with text and links for you and me, Let me tell you about the Musée Rodin of Paris !!! Hope you enjoy it as I,

And by bd des Invalides passed by the museum that I have heard about it before  from friends in the know, so got it pinpoint and came back for a closer look. It was very nice indeed ,and love the story of Rodin and Claudel, right! I did came back one more time and both were awesome, a must to see in my Paris, The museum entrance is on 77 Rue de Varennes, closest metro station at Varennes, line 13 or a bit pass it on station Saint François-Xavier same line, also bus lines 82,86,and 92.

The Rodin Museum is house in the hotel Biron, next to Invalides, in the 7éme arrondissement of Paris. The Hotel Biron was built in the early 18C.  At the beginning of the 20C, it was threatened to be destroyed. So many artists settled there, such as Jean Cocteau, Henri Matisse, Isadora Duncan, who created a dance workshop there, Rodin  moved in 1908. In the gardens, he places his ancient sculptures; in the hotel, its sculptures, plasters, castings, drawings. In 1911, the State purchased the property.  Rodin proposes to give all his works to the State if it turns the hotel into a Rodin museum. The project is accepted and the museum opens in 1919. Through its two sites, the Hotel Biron on the rue de Varenne, in the 7éme arrondissement in Paris.

The museum retains collections of great diversity because Rodin was a collector artist. It presents mainly sculptures and some paintings, because old drawings and photographs cannot, for reasons of preservation, be permanently displayed in the dedicated gallery of the first floor.  The sculptures of Rodin are those of an artist who chooses to break with the uses of his time. The artist is also distinguished by the monumental character of his creations. The graphic production of Rodin concerns nearly 8 000 creations attached to several periods: observation drawings (Landscapes of Belgium and Italy, then architecture), imaginary representations inspired by Dante or Baudelaire, many nudes sometimes Erotic, or even portraits. It is also a collection of drawings by Honoré Daumer, etc., and engravings, including nearly 200 Japanese engravings acquired after 1900.

The approximately 10 000 old photographs kept at the museum (but rarely exhibited for reasons of conservation) are the fruit of Rodin’s great interest in photography, which gained prominence at that time.  The sculptor works with many photographers. The latter exceed the mere photographic reproduction of the works of Rodin to make their photographs of artistic works in their own right. For the last twenty years of his life, Rodin has been a madly collector, accumulating with frenzy the objects of the past. Fascinated by the ancient, he gets 6 480 pieces, which gradually invade his places of life and work. Mi-2017, the museum’s online catalogues list 1 311, of which 871 came from Egypt, one from Persia, 23 from Greece or greater Greece, 64 from Rome, 7 from the Levant, 103 from China or Japan, 23 from India, Cambodia or Indonesia, 29 from Central or South America or dating from the Middle Ages. Rodin, whose museum also exhibits several sketches, also loves painting and acquires in the course of his life works of great masters.

The collection also includes works by other friends sculptors or students of Rodin. The Rodin Museum has been open for several years to contemporary art, thus reactivating a business approach from 1949. And what about the place where the museum is at! Lovely area, The Hotel Biron , located at the corner of the Rue de Peyrenc and the Boulevard des Invalides, in the 7éme arrondissement of Paris. Several artists were allowed to establish their workshops there; This is how Rodin, Jean Cocteau, and Henri Matisse make their entrance to the former Hotel Biron. In 1911 the State buys the estate while Rodin decides to give up his collections on the condition that a museum be devoted to his work within the hotel; The project ended in 1919, but Rodin, who died two years before, could not attend the opening of the museum. The hotel is surrounded by an exceptional area, in the heart of Paris. The old 19C Chapel, built from the time of the religious congregation and restored in 2005, hosts a completely renovated showroom, a new auditorium, as well as the ticket office and the Museum administration.

The garden, spread over three acres of woodland on the property of the park of the hotel Matignon, reputed to be the largest private green area of Paris, and decorated with a basin and a cafeteria. Visitors walk through the monumental sculptures of Rodin, which are arranged there. Superbe walk, recommended,

One aspect I cannot leave out on this homage to Rodin is Camille. Camille Claudel held an important place in the life of Rodin, from an artistic point of view as well as sentimental. Rodin passed on his knowledge, before drawing inspiration for many of his works. The young woman’s talent is such that she becomes a true collaborator of the master (and some darn good work she did too), working with him in the realization of some of his most famous creations, like the Porte de l’Enfer ( door of hell).  It is therefore logical that a room of Camille Claudel is created at the Hotel Biron in 1952. It then received several donations from Paul Claudel, the artist’s brother, especially the L’Âge Mur (mature age), Clotho, and Vertumne and Pomone, among her 45 works preserved at the museum.

The hôtel Biron has experienced several occupants since the completion of its construction in 1730 like the Duchess of Maine, beautiful daughter of Louis XIV; The Marshal  Biron, who gave his name to the hotel; The Duke of Charost; The Pontifical Legation; The Russian embassy; or the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious congregation founded by Madeleine-Sophie Barat. The future Empress of the French, Eugénie de Montijo (from Spain and wife of Napoleon III), received her education in the convent between 1835 and 1839.

For info the house he lived ,the Villa des Brillants in Meudon (Hauts-de-Seine dept 92).Where many other collections are kept can be reach from Paris on RER C get off at Meudon Val Fleury  ,and take bus 169 stop Paul Bert or by metro Mairie d’Issy on line 12 ,then bus lines 190, 290, and 169 stop Hôpital Percy, The house museum is at 19 avenue Auguste Rodin ,Meudon, More in the Île de France region tourist office : https://www.visitparisregion.com/en/rodin-museum-meudon

The official Rodin museum: http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en

The Paris tourist office on the Rodin museum: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71204/Musee-Rodin-Paris

The Île de France region tourist office on the Rodin museum : https://www.visitparisregion.com/en/musee-rodin-paris

The Grand Palais on the person of Auguste Rodin (French): https://www.grandpalais.fr/en/node/17655

There you go folks, again another dandy in my eternal Paris; so much mon Dieu! This is one museum rather on the off beaten path mode but should be visited more me think, It is sublime, gorgeous and darn good to be at. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Musée Rodin of Paris !!! as I,

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!