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Musee Rodin Review
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Musée Rodin 
- Address: 75 rue de Varenne, Trocadero/Tour Eiffel, Paris | Map It
- Phone: 01-44-18-61-10
- www.musee-rodin.fr
- Category: Museums/Galleries
- Location: Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel
Fodor's Review:
This grand 18th-century hôtel particulier ("private mansion") was Auguste Rodin's (1840-1917) studio and now houses a museum dedicated to his work. He died rich and famous but many of the sculptures that earned him his place in history were first met with contempt by the public, who weren't quite ready for his powerful brand of sexuality and raw physicality.
Most of Rodin's well-known sculptures are outside in the gardens. The front garden is dominated by The Gates of Hell (circa 1880). Inspired by the monumental bronze doors of Italian Renaissance churches, Rodin set out to illustrate stories from Dante's Divine Comedy. He worked on the sculpture for more than 30 years, and it serves as a "sketchpad" for many of his later works. If you look carefully, you can see miniature versions of The Kiss (bottom right), his most celebrated work The Thinker (top center), and The Three Shades (top center). The Thinker, (circa 1881), is a seated male nude caught in a moment of deep contemplation. Look at the flexing toes and way the figure seems to bite his hand. Rodin wants us to feel the physical effort of creativity.
Inside the house are early works including The Bronze Age, inspired by a pilgrimage to Italy and the sculptures of Michelangelo; the work was so realistic critics accused Rodin of having cast a real body in plaster. The museum also displays works by Rodin's student and longtime mistress Camille Claudel (1864-1943). A remarkable sculptor in her own right, her torturous relationship with Rodin eventually drove her out of his studio -- and out of her mind. In 1913 she was packed off to an asylum, where she remained until her death.
- Cost: EUR 6; gardens only, EUR 1; free 1st Sun. of month
- Open: Apr.-Oct., Tues.-Sun. 9:30-5:45; Nov.-Mar., Tues.-Sun. 9:30-4:45
- Metro: Varenne
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