The Age of Bronze, Auguste Rodin. Photo © Art Journey Paris.
Think life was hard for the Impressionists at the start of their career ? Rodin had been refused entry to the Arts School three times ! Meet a genius sculptor with a Musée Rodin private tour.
Rejected three times by the Beaux Arts School, Rodin had to leave Paris and make a living carving doorways, like a mere craftsman. At nearly 40 years of age, he finally received an official commission, the recognition needed to be seen, at last, as an artist….
A journey from rejection to consecration
We'll discover how a man at first repudiated could transform sculpture on his own, as much as the Impressionists together changed painting. Being repeatedly dissuaded to study fine art turned out to be a blessing in disguise, Rodin himself having said “where did I learn to understand sculpture? In the woods by looking at the trees, along roads by observing the formation of clouds, in the studio by studying the model, everywhere except in the schools”.
We will be in awe at a man's perseverance and creativity and wonder why he was overlooked.
The Gates of Hell & the Thinker
“His head is on his fist, he wonders. Fertile thoughts slowly rise in his mind. He is not a dreamer. He is a creator”. - Rodin, describing the Thinker. The Gates of Hell was Rodin's 'Noah's Ark' of figures, on which he worked for 37 years, out of which came the majority of his masterpieces, including the Kiss. But the nude figure of Dante at the top, also known as the Thinker, is one of the most important statues ever, we will discuss why.
We will also discover the great work and tragic life of Camille Claudel, Rodin's assistant and lover. He said of her “I told her where she could find gold, but the gold she found was her own”.
Musée Rodin gardens. Photo © Art Journey Paris.
€ 100 per person
Private tour for up to 5 persons.
Entrance tickets are extra; the minimun fee for the tour is € 200.
To discover the Musée Rodin with an officially certified guide, do not hesitate to contact us for availability.
Two monuments facing each other, Auguste Rodin and the Thinker. Behind them, Victor Hugo's statue.
More Information About A Musée Rodin private visit
The Musée Rodin opens every day except Mondays, from 10 am to 6.30 pm.
A visit of the Rodin museum can be complemented by a visit of the nearby Musée d'Orsay. Entrance tickets are extra. To get online tickets for the Musée Rodin
Other museums also open in the evening, like the Louvre, so with an Art Journey Private evening tour of the Louvre, we can travel from Antiquity until the 19th century.
- Photo tours of Paris gardens and statues - We can also combine a photographic tour of the Musée Rodin with a photographic tour. To give you an idea of the sites and photos that can be taken, please visit either our Art Journey Flickr, or our Instagram.
Photo tours are open to beginners as well as advanced photographers, from a crash course into the basics of photography technique to composition, that is working on the art of seeing. Please ask in advance about taking photos of Paris, its gardens, statues and monuments.
More widsom from Auguste Rodin :
“He stands still; but he is about to walk... This is something I gave a good deal of thought to... Movement, I long thought it was everything, that it was the greatest of means. But statues do not move. One must feel that they can move”.
“The form and the attitude of a human being reveal the emotions of its soul. The body always expresses the spirit whose envelope it is”.
“Art is contemplation. It is the pleasure of the mind which searches into nature and which there divines the spirit by which Nature herself is animated”.
Contact
To inquire about a private tour of the Musée Rodin, please mention the date of the visit as well as the number of participants, using the form below, thank you.