Rodin Museum Free Guide

The Rodin Museum is a picturesque venue filled with stunning sculptures crafted by the great Impressionist master. Its glorious landscaped garden is to be seen to be believed; you will be lost for words in the breathtaking beauty of its surroundings. The extremely beautiful landscaped outdoors has several secluded spots, in which sculptures lie half concealed among thick vegetation to give the feeling of a secret garden. While the outdoors are unparalleled, the indoor setting is even more beautiful, as should be expected of a former luxury hotel that was later converted to Rodin’s home and studio. The roughly cube-shaped building has large French windows that bathe the wonderful works in a sea of warmth. The light that floods through the French windows fills the galleries with beauty and grandeur, but they also add a bit of drama by casting the works in a different light depending on the time of day, which is magical to watch and observe. Imagine Rodin was the director and each sculpture an actor but it is the sunlight that is the make up amd lighting artist, casting each character in a different mood. Take the Thinker for instance. When the sun shines on his face, he seems to be at the cusp of his million-dollar idea, the overhead sun makes him a brooding man, while the evening sun casts a contemplative light of great introspective intensity. In works such as The Age of Bronze, this effect also becomes poignant as the work casts dramatic shadows upon itself to accentuate the effect. To watch the fantastic play of light on these sculptural edifices, you do not need to stay from dawn to dusk but there are picturesque images in the app where you can catch the light casting these characters in different moods.

Rodin's sculptural journey has never been smooth sailing but has been one in which he has been constantly embroiled in controversy, distracted by love affairs, derided for plagiarism, and defying classical norms. You have to give it to this man for weathering these storms. Despite the tumultuous life of ups and downs Rodin kept his head above the water. Even in the thick of controversies such as the live casting of Age of Bronze or plagiarising his pupil’s works, he was stirred but never shaken and continued to weather the storm that constantly surrounded his life with utmost dignity. He produced beautiful works, poignant works, questionable works, controversial works, original works and copied works but he only copied the works that he already had the right to. But if we were to pick one work that was career-defining, it would be Gates of Hell. The work is a summative microcosm - a little universe that was the creative mother and inspiration for several of his offshoots such as The Kiss and Thinker that came later. But he hardly got any name or money from such experimental commissions. When we see his works we have to acknowledge his contribution as a bold innovator - his art was made less
to please others and more to satisfy his creative hunger. This is why many people see the Thinker as a self-portrait of Rodin himself mulling over his next project. Which is also why despite the controversy, an entire room has been dedicated to celebrate the works of his ex-pupil and former mistress Camille Claudel. She was in many ways the fuel that fired his creative output. But the creative spark that she lit in Rodin grew like a wildfire and burnt bright as day and when the flame extinguished it left a deep void that became her pitfall - a talent gone too soon. We will explore this further when we look at the sculpture Age of Maturity which is featured in the tour alongside Camille’s other works.

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Here is best way to see the works, as well as Rodin’s personal collection of paintings and plaster casts. Embark on our itinerary that covers the brilliant sculptural garden and blockbuster masterpieces. If you intend to use the audio guide download it well in advance and take your headphones, earphones or Bluetooth earbuds along.