Today, after a quick visit back at the Musée D'Orsay to check that we hadn't missed a particular Van Gogh that we felt might be there — it wasn't — we went on to the Musée Rodin. Imagine our disappointment when we found that the main building was closed for major renovations, and his small works — including Warren's favourite Terracotta statue — weren't on display — and neither was the marble of "The Kiss". But, so you won't miss out, here are a couple of photos we took last time, in 2008.
But the gardens, with all their wonderful statues, were still as delightful as ever, and they had a temporary exhibition which let you into Rodin's methods of working, which was interesting.
On the way we just happened upon a papierterie,
where Suzie found the Paperblanks notebook she had been looking for
On the way we just happened upon a papierterie,
where Suzie found the Paperblanks notebook she had been looking for
We wandered about the gardens, looking at all the preliminary statues he prepared when working on his Burghers of Calais — Rodin's statues were always a process, never just going straight to the finished work. Famously, Michaelangelo said that he simply saw the finished work trapped in the block of marble, and his task was to free it. Rodin, on the other hand, worked on idea after idea, and his finished works were a synthesis of what had gone before. When we came to the finished statue, we could see how it all came together.
There is a copy of Rodin's Gates of Hell in the garden as well. You can see how he incorporated other works into this monumental gateway — The Thinker sits above the portal, and the Three Shades surmount the whole structure. Adam and Eve, who we met elsewhere in the garden, were supposed to flank the gate, but Rodin never completed this part of the gate. The commission for the gate ultimately fell through, as the building it was supposed to be part of was never constructed.
The Kiss was also originally to be part of the gate, but Rodin had second thoughts about this.
Anyway, after spending a lot of time in the gardens of the Musée Rodin, we took the metro to the Place de la Concorde, at the end of the Jardin des Tuileries and right beside l'Orangerie, where Monet's Nymphéas have found their home.
Maybe Warren's seeing things, but is there the faintest image
of a bearded gentleman hidden in this last painting?
Downstairs there is the private collection of Paul Guillaume, a magnificent collection of the French impressionists and post-impressionists. We spent a lot of time down there as well! Again, we'll let the pictures speak for themselves!
Henri Rousseau (These paintings were on loan to an exhibition in Venice when we were there, but because they were on loan, we were not allowed to photograph them at the time. Well, the chickens have come home to roost!)
After spending most of the afternoon with the impressionists, we finally left Musée de l'Orangerie. Our timing was good — when we arrived, we were able to walk straight in. Now there was quite a queue developing.
We mentioned that The Kiss was not on display at the Musée Rodin — well, there is a bronze of it right outside the Orangerie!
We wandered into La Place de la Concorde, where we were amused by a stilt-walking clown harassing the tourists! We then, like a vast number of Parisians and tourists, went for a walk through the Tuileries Garden. As we were walking, we became conscious of some very black clouds looming behind us. We were making our way to Carrousel du Louvre, hoping to get under cover before the heavens cut loose. We didn't quite make it, but our trusty umbrellas keps us dry until we got under cover. We settled in there for a quiet cup of coffee before going into the Palais Royale - Louvre station to catch the metro back to base.
Another huge day!
Distance driven — today, nil; to date, 29,782 miles ( 47,930 km )
Yep. I could see him too. The girlies were up to msomething again, but what? Thanks Renoir. Love ya, Cathy
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