Musée Rodin

Yesterday, I finally righted a huge wrong & paid a visit to the Musee Rodin with some friends. Free for European students under the age of 26, and nestled within a beautiful sculpture garden, I highly recommend a visit. 

 

The only downside is that within the museum there didn't seem to be much information about the great man himself, so I dredged up whatever information I could remember from my 'Art History in the Belle Epoque' course and cobbled together a (probably factually dubious) commentary as we strolled from room to room.

 

The building itself is incredibly beautiful and the collection is contained enough to be able to enjoy all the sculptures, some of Rodin's earlier paintings (who knew?!) and even some works by Van Gogh, Monet and Camille Claudel. 

In the gardens we admired the awe-inspiring 'The Gates of Hell', and the famous study for the figurehead of the gate, 'The Thinker'. 

Matching Duffle Coats

Now an image popularly used to represent Philosophy, in class we were told that the figure was possibly Dante contemplating his 'Divine Comedy' which the gate depicts, or even atheistic man usurping the place where Jesus Christ sits in traditional morality paintings of heaven and hell, contemplating a nihilistic universe & unable to provoke change. It was quite sobering, so we headed inside for a warming drink and a chat in the Museum cafe. 

The beautiful museum gardens

The weather has just turned, it's so cold out! I dug out my duffle coat and suddenly resembled a cross between Paddington and Rupert Bear.

I believe that the museum is free on the first Sunday of every month. The stickers which are given out on 'free entry' days are stuck all over the outside of the building. A nice tradition - I think, it makes me smile when I walk past!

À Bientôt ! 

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