Sunday, April 15, 2012

Musee Rodin - Paris France

When I went Paris I visited a lot of the museums that were there, I had ones that I found to be boring and others that I found to be better than I expected. When I first visited the Musee Rodin I didn't know much about the famous sculpture but after I left I had a much better appreciation for him and his work. When you visit this museum its a good idea to make sure that its pleasant weather and no rain in the forecast. While many of the pieces are inside there are many that are outside including some of Rodin's most famous pieces.

Rodin's "The Thinker" is Located
in the Garden
Everyone that knows anything about art has heard of and seen photos of 'The Thinker" and this is one of the first things that you can see while visited the gardens and walking around the outside of the museum. Then you can take a walking tour and see other pieces that are well known, such as the "Gates of Hell", "Monument to Victor Hugo", "The Three Shades" , among many others. Its actually a pleasant walk and if done on a nice day can be something that will give you a wonderful view of the colors that are in Paris and a very calm feeling. Rodin himself actually placed many of the sculptures in the garden in the early 1900s.

If you go inside you can see works other that sculptures and you can see some of the smaller scupltures. Some famous pieces such as "The Kiss" are found inside the museum not in the garden. The inside, to me, when I went was very pretty but since I walked through the garden first I didn't get the same effect that I did from the garden. So I would recommend that you walk the inside of the building first as I felt that should I have done that first I might have enjoyed it more.

Rodin's "The Gates of Hell"
It's also a good idea to make sure that you stop and take a look at the marble collection, while you can't walk through this collection and many people overlook it, its worth stopping. The marble collection is protected by a glass wall so that the elements can't get to them and they are preserved for future generations to see.

One really good thing about this museum is while there are over 700,000 visitors a year it never seems that crowded to me. With all the space and the gardens it seems much more relaxed and usually doesn't feel like there is a big crowd all around you. So it much easier to enjoy the beauty of the garden and the pieces, than it is in many other musuems.

The Musee Rodin
Musée Rodin
79, rue de Varenne - 75007 Paris

Phone:+33 (0)1 44 18 61 10
Hours: 10 AM- 5:45PM
last ticket sold at 5:15 PM

Garden is cleared at  5 from 1 October to 31 March.
Closed on January 1, May ,1 and December 25.