Paris: The Birthday Trip - Day 7 (part 2)
| The Thinker. | Denise and The Burghers of Calais. | Monument to Victor Hugo. |
Keeping in mind that this was Denise's trip and I had no input, imagine my excitement when I found that our next stop would be the Musée Rodin - an artist whose work I have more than enthusiastically admired from the first moment I saw photographs of his sculptures over fifty years ago!
We arrived 15 or 20 minutes before opening time and joined a small but growing group of people waiting with varying degrees of patience in whatever bits of shade we could find on a day that was obviously going to be a very sunny continuation of the heat-wave that had Paris and most of France in its relentless grip. Most of the people waiting for the museum to open were, wisely, carrying bottled water.
I cannot describe my feelings as we entered the grounds and the museum that had once been Rodin's studio.
| Standing at The Gates of Hell. | The Gates of Hell. |
In any other context it might seem odd and somewhat ominous to hear someone expressing their excitement about finding themselves mere inches from the gates of Hell but that is the situation I found myself in. 'The Gates of Hell', the consequence of Rodin's obsession with Dante's poem, is the work that led me into an interest (obsession?) with Rodin so many years ago.
I don't think any other artist expresses beauty of the human form (or captures the expressiveness of the human form) as well as Rodin has. This is certainly true of the female body (see the torso below).
| Detail of 'Call to Arms'. | Torso of a Young Woman with Arched Back. |
Today the studio overlooks a formal garden and pond, a view much different from the overgrown wildness of the grounds Rodin would have seen when he took possession of the house. Beyond that is a lovely wooded park with sculptures scattered throughout. These wonderful, famous sculptures are presented without fanfare, simply waiting to be discovered purely by chance.
After strolling around the park for some time we relaxed for a while in the informal restaurant situated at the side of the park grounds and enjoyed coffee and croissants. As we were leaving, we bought a number of books and so on in the museum's shop (How could we resist Rodin?) and then set out for the Musée d'Orsay.
The Poires Belle Hélène
The Musée d'Orsay began life as a train station designed to fit in with the surrounding architecture. The building has miraculously survived conversion for many other uses over the years - including, in 1975, a proposal for its destruction and replacement with a modern hotel complex! It is now one of the finest museums in the world with almost 4 million visitors each year.
I think we saw almost everything available and so managed to once again and quite happily exhaust ourselves. At one point I would have happily and mercilessly taken Whistler's Mother's chair right out from under her.
We decided to take advantage of the restaurant on the top floor where the huge glass clock face offers fantastic views of Paris looking toward Sacré-Cœur on Montmartre. We had a wonderful meal which we finished with a selection of pastries for Denise and Poires Belle Hélène for me.
The view through the clock face at the Musée d'Orsay.
All in all, another spectacular day in Paris!