© Paris je t'aime - Jacques Lebar
Hôtel Biron in Rue de Varenne, in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, is a fine eighteenth-century rococo-style mansion set in a beautiful French garden. This is where famous sculptor August Rodin lived and worked from 1908. Rodin, who was also a draughtsman, photographer and art collector, gifted the entirety of his works to the French State in 1916. The Rodin Museum was created in 1919.
The Museum contains the largest collection in the world of the artist’s work – more than 32,000 pieces, including 6,778 sculptures, 9,000 drawings, 6,000 antiques collected by Rodin, and 11,000 photographs. The permanent exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of Rodin’s work, exploring his creative process and artistic development. A selection of 598 works, including The Kiss, The Walking Man, The Age of Bronze, The Cathedral, Meditation and Danaid, are displayed in the rooms of the Hôtel Biron, bathed in the natural light flowing through the bay windows. The exhibition also explores Rodin’s relationships with his contemporaries and disciples, in particular Camille Claudel.
In the Museum garden visitors can admire 20 of Rodin’s bronze sculptures, including The Thinker, Les Bourgeois de Calais, and The Gates of Hell, as well as monuments to Balzac and Victor Hugo. The Rodin Museum organizes two temporary exhibitions each year, guided tours, and a programme of events and activities for children.
Useful information
Musée Rodin
77 rue de Varenne, Paris 7th
From 10am to 6.30pm. Closed on Monday.
