Description: I absolutely loved the Musee Rodin in Paris. I have been to all of the major ones – The Louvre, The Musee Nationale D’Art Moderne at the Pompidou Centre and the Musee D’Orsay – and whilst they are all fabulous in their own way, none of them has the personal feel that the Musee Rodin has.
It is what is called a house museum, being that it is based in a house and gardens rather than in a purpose built building. It’s not just any house though, it is the house that Rodin himself died in in 1917, which makes the choice of location all the more relevant and poignant.
The museum is located in the Eiffel Tower district of Paris, just around the back of the massive and rather impressive gold domed former hospital Les Invalides. It is open every day except Monday and is open from 9.30am until 5.45pm in summer (April until September inclusive) and closes an hour earlier in winter (from October until March inclusive). When planning your visit, you can choose to visit just the gardens for one Euro or include the house as well for five Euros. The gardens are fabulous, especially in the summer months, but I’d recommend paying the extra to see the whole thing – it still represents cracking good value for money.
The house itself is 18th century and quite pretty, but the inside is fabulously aged. The floors creak and the walls have that slightly yellowing colour that makes you think of times gone by. There are quite a lot of the sculptor’s works crammed into a small area inside and there are often lots of people visiting, so it can be very crowded. It is worth having a look though because you’ll see one of his most famous pieces, The Kiss, which is surprisingly small.
Outside is a complete contrast to this though and is very much a pleasure to enjoy. The pieces are still plentiful, but they are much more spaced out and there seems to be fewer people out here. The star of the show is The Thinker, probably his most famous piece. It is displayed high on a stone column, so it is very easy to get a good picture without other people in the background. I also particularly The Gate of Hell, which is an interesting and intricate piece that is carved out of darker stone to give it quite an eerie look. At the bottom of the garden is a huge pond with a Rodin sculpted fountain that makes a very pleasant place to sit a while and enjoy the surroundings.
Overall I would highly recommend the Rodin museum, even if you aren’t a big fan of his work, because it is a very pleasant place to visit, there are some very famous works on open display and it is pretty good value for money.
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