The Rodin Museum, located on two sites, in Paris and the Parisian suburb of Meudon, houses the largest collection of the great sculptor's works. The Paris museum is housed in the Biron Mansion, a true gem of rocaille architecture.
The mansion was built in the 1830s for the wealthy financier de Mora. The building's design was created under the supervision of the royal architect Jean Aubert. Located on the border of Paris, the house was both urban and suburban. After More's death, the estate was bought by the future Marshal Biron. He took care of the three-hectare plot, and the garden on this plot is still considered one of the most beautiful in Paris. The owners of the house then changed several times.
In 1904, the mansion was once again put up for sale and was rented out while waiting for a buyer. Among the tenants were Henri Matisse, Jean Cocteau, Isadora Duncan. In 1908, Auguste Rodin rented four rooms on the ground floor of the mansion - facing south, with access to the terrace - to use as a studio. The wilderness garden appealed to Rodin, and he displayed some of his works and part of his collection of antique sculpture among the trees.
In 1911, the mansion was sold to the state for the Ministry of Public Education. Rodin did not want to leave his beloved home and offered the government a deal: "I give the state all my works in plaster, marble, bronze and stone and my drawings, as well as a collection of ancient sculpture ... And I ask the state to keep these collections in the mansion Biron, which will become the Rodin Museum, leaving me the right to live there all my life.
France went along with the sale of the mansion to the Ministry of Education.
France took this step, but Rodin did not have long to live in his favourite mansion: he died in 1917. Two years later, the Rodin Museum was officially opened.
The museum houses 6,600 sculptures, 8,000 drawings, 6,000 works of ancient art, 8,000 old photographs, as well as paintings by Monet, Van Gogh and Renoir from Rodin's personal collection. The sculptor's most famous works are on display here - The Kiss, Citizens of Calais, The Gates of Hell and, of course, The Thinker, sitting in his famous pose in the magnificent garden of the Biron Mansion. You can sit next to him on a bench and think about life, too.
