I would call the Rodin Museum the most enchanting museum in Paris. It’s a small museum dedicated to a great artist. Many visitors come back again and again just for the chance to daydream among the sculptures and the tall trees of its gorgeous garden. Walking into the grounds, you’re greeted by the statue “The Thinker,” rising above the greenery with the golden dome of Les Invalides peeking out in the background, and it sets a wonderful mood. Even if you’re not an art lover, you can enjoy every minute here.
The history of the Rodin Museum
The museum is housed in the historic Hôtel Biron, a mansion built in 1730 for a successful wig maker. The building later passed to the Duchess of Maine, and in 1753 it was bought by the Maréchal de Biron, a scion of a storied military family who devoted great care to the gardens, but who was sent to the guillotine in 1793. Along the way, before it became a museum, the Hôtel Biron went through several interesting transformations: among other things, it served as a dance hall, a home for nuns, and a girls’ school, until in 1908 it became studio apartments for artists.
Among the famous artists who lived there, you can count Henri Matisse, Jean Cocteau, and Isadora Duncan. But the most notable artist to live there, up until the day he died, was the man who would go on to become the greatest sculptor in the history of France and one of the most important sculptors in the world, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). Unlike a number of well-known artists of his era, Rodin became famous and widely recognized during his own lifetime. His success was so great that the state offered to let him live and work in the private mansion rent-free, on the condition that he would leave his works to the state after his death. Rodin, for his part, demanded that his works be shown to the public and remain in that very place. That’s how, in 1919, a small, moving, wonderful, and important museum was born, in one of the most peaceful and pleasant spots in the heart of Paris.
Rodin’s beginnings were not easy. He was rejected from art school, joined a monastery, and nearly lost one of the greatest sculpting talents the world has ever seen. Luckily for him, and for us, Rodin sculpted a remarkably successful bust of the monastery’s head, who then urged him to leave the monastery and devote himself to sculpture. Rodin’s big breakthrough actually came out of a scandal: he unveiled a statue of a man called “The Age of Bronze,” which looked so lifelike that people accused him of having cast it directly from a living model. Once it became clear that wasn’t the case, Rodin earned enormous acclaim.
The works on display at the Rodin Museum
The museum’s interior design is quite grand: marble staircases, wood floors, and ornate ceilings. The exhibition halls and the gardens are scattered with numerous works, some of them world famous. Most of Rodin’s sculptures are figurative, full of life, and breathtaking in their beauty. The white marble sculpture called “The Kiss,” depicting a couple locked in an embrace, caused a scandal in its day over the claim that the woman appeared overcome with desire. The nude statue “Saint John the Baptist” gave Rodin’s career, and his public recognition, a huge boost. Many other works of his achieved worldwide fame, including “The Cathedral,” “The Hand of God,” “Eve,” “The Age of Bronze,” his portrait bust of Clemenceau, “The Walking Man,” and “The Man with the Broken Nose.” All of these, and many more, are on display at the Hôtel Biron.
The sculpture garden
The sculpture garden displays several of the famous statues that cemented Rodin’s reputation. The peaceful, stunning English-style gardens surrounding the house are worth a visit all on their own, so if you’re in a hurry or don’t want to go into the museum itself, you can still enjoy a wonderful, romantic garden. These gardens, which surround the Hôtel Biron, make up the third-largest private green space in Paris and are considered one of the city’s great treasures. As noted, the gardens display some of Rodin’s best known and most important sculptures:
“The Thinker”
A statue that became the universal symbol of philosophy was originally meant to stand on the steps of the Panthéon, but it was rejected by the city of Paris after the public objected to the nudity.
“The Burghers of Calais”
This statue depicts the surrender of the city of Calais in 1347 to King Edward III of England (r. 1327-1378). The king offered not to destroy the city if its six most prominent citizens would come to him with ropes around their necks and hand over the keys to the city along with their lives. The sculpture portrays each of those six notables in detail, men who sacrificed their lives for their city. (The story actually had a happy ending: the Queen of England managed to convince Edward III to spare the notables’ lives.)
“The Gates of Hell”
This extraordinary work, six meters tall and four meters wide, was commissioned for the entrance of a planned museum of decorative arts. That museum was never built, and Rodin kept working on the piece until the day he died, leaving it unfinished. The sculpture depicts figures representing a scene from Dante’s Inferno.
Camille Claudel
Camille Claudel, sister of the renowned writer Paul Claudel, was Rodin’s student, muse, protégée, mistress, and a sculptor in her own right. A twenty-year age gap didn’t stop a long and passionate affair between them. The famous sculpture “The Kiss” was most likely inspired by this very love affair.
But after the relationship with Rodin ended, her mental health deteriorated, and she spent 30 years in a psychiatric hospital. Still, as mentioned, Claudel was a talented sculptor in her own right, and in 1989 the city of Paris decided to dedicate a special room in the museum to her work. Several of her sculptures are now displayed at the Musée d’Orsay, alongside Rodin’s own pieces. If you’d like to learn more about Camille Claudel’s life and work, I recommend reading Dr. Orna Liberman’s article, Gold and Clay.
Works by the great masters
Rodin also kept, and later left to the state, collections of works by several famous painters. That’s why you’ll find famous oil paintings by van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir in the museum. Beyond his hundreds of sculptures, Rodin also left behind a range of paintings, watercolors, drawings, engravings, and more. Throughout the museum you’ll also find some of Rodin’s personal belongings, tools, and furniture on display.
Rodin Museum: tickets and opening hours
Tickets for the Rodin Museum
Here are a few ticket options for the museum (skip-the-line):
- Admission ticket to the museum
- Combined ticket for the Rodin Museum and Musée d’Orsay
- Combined ticket for the Rodin Museum and the Orangerie
- Combined ticket for the Rodin Museum and Les Invalides
- Guided tour of the Rodin Museum (in English)
Address, getting there, and opening hours
The Rodin Museum is located at 77 Rue de Varenne, in the 7th arrondissement, near Les Invalides. The nearest Metro station is Varenne. The museum is open daily except Mondays, from 10:00 to 18:30.
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