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Published: June 16th 2019
Musée Rodin
Hôtel Biron, 77 rue de VarenneThe weather since our arrival in Paris has been unseasonably mild, with temperatures hovering between 60- and 70-degrees during the day, with partly cloudy skies, and a few light, intermittent showers--quite a contrast from two years ago at this time, when we sweltered in 90-degree-temperatures!
Today we decided to make a short outing to visit the Rodin museum, which is located adjacent to Les Invalides, the complex of buildings that includes the Dôme des Invalides where Napoleon Bonaparte is entombed. With the assistance of a bus ride as far as Les Invalides, the total walking distance would be less than a mile roundtrip, so the strain on Dee's sore foot would be minimal.
After our lunch at a friendly little Italian restaurant down the street, we caught the bus as far as Les Invalides, where the golden dome sparkled in the sunshine. This complex of buildings (in the 7th arrondissement of Paris) contains museums and monuments relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, which was the building's original purpose.
The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée
des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine, as well as the Dôme des Invalides (the tallest church in Paris at 350 ft.), under which the tombs of some of France's war heroes, most notably Napoleon, are located.
It took us about 15 minutes to reach the museum from the bus stop at Les Invalides. We have visited the Musée Rodin several times in the past, although never when the rose gardens in front of the museum were in full bloom. But today, the gardens were a magnificent sight to behold.
Dee was in her glory, snapping close-up photos of the roses with her iPhone. Several of Rodin's masterpieces are displayed around the rose garden, notably
The Thinker, and the colorful flowers and shrubs provide a perfect backdrop for his sculptures.
The museum itself is housed in the Hôtel Biron, an impressive mansion built between 1727-1732, and surrounded by 7 acres of lawns and gardens. Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) rented four ground-floor rooms to use as his studios in 1908; from 1911 onwards, he occupied the whole building. In 1911, when the French state had committed itself to purchasing the Hôtel Biron, Rodin started to negotiate with it.
The artist announced his intention to donate all his works to the French state--along with paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that he had acquired--under the condition the State would maintain these collections at the Hôtel Biron, which would become the Musée Rodin after his death, in exchange for the right to reside there for the rest of his life.
After admiring the rose garden, we walked to the back side of the property, where there is a round pool and nice views of the Hôtel Biron's southern facade. Returning to the front via the east side, various sculptures of Rodin are spread out among trees, including his
Monument to Victor Hugo.
At the northeast section of the grounds sits the famous
La Porte de l'Enfer (
Gates of Hell), a monumental work that depicts a scene from the Inferno, the first section of Dante Alighieri's
Divine Comedy. It measures 19.7×13.1×3.3 ft., and contains 180 figures. The sculpture was commissioned by the Directorate of Fine Arts in 1880, and was meant to be delivered in 1885. Rodin would continue to work on and off on this project for 37 years, until his death in 1917.
Le Baiser ("The Kiss")
Auguste Rodin (1889), Musée Rodin While Dee rested on a bench in the rose garden, I made a brief tour inside the museum, where Rodin's work and private collection are displayed on two floors of the mansion. The collection is immense, including 6,600 sculptures alone, but
Le Baiser (
The Kiss) seemed to be attracting the most attention.
Upstairs are displayed several paintings by Van Gogh, Renoir and Monet that Rodin had acquired for his personal collection. There is also a room displaying some work by Camille Claudel, a talented young woman whom Rodin had taken on as a student in 1884, and who eventually became his associate and lover. He refused to marry her, reluctant to end his long-term relationship with Rose Beuret, mother of his son and later his wife. This love triangle, and an abortion, caused a separation between Claudel and Rodin in 1892.
After finishing my tour of the museum, Dee and I started for home, using the same bus and walking route we had taken earlier. Tomorrow we're planning on resting for our day trip on Monday to visit Claude Monet's house and garden in the town of Giverny, 50 miles northwest of Paris.
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Jeni
non-member comment
The gardens with all the blooms are spectacular, I can see why you kept taking photos! The Musée Rodin was also impressive. Love the history about Rodin, Mitch. Very interesting.