musée Rodin PARIS reopening november 12, 2015 musée Rodin

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musée Rodin PARIS
reopening
november 12, 2015
PRESS RELEASE
The Hôtel Biron, north façade,
© musée Rodin, ph. J. Manoukian
AFTER A COMPLETE RESTORATION OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, THE
MAGNIFICENT HÔTEL BIRON, HOME OF THE RODIN MUSEUM IN PARIS SINCE 1919,
WILL REOPEN ITS DOORS TO THE PUBLIC ON 12 NOVEMBER 2015, THE 175TH
BIRTHDAY OF THE FAMOUS FRENCH SCULPTOR.
The 18th-century palace required extensive updating and a redesign of its interior to meet the
standards of a modern museum. It had not undergone full renovation since Auguste Rodin himself used it as his Paris studio until his death in 1917. The renovation has allowed the museum
to completely rethink its exhibition space, and to show the work of Rodin and some of his
contemporaries—including his pupil and lover Camille Claudel—in a new light. The new layout
Restoration of the building’s
floors, © musée Rodin,
ph. J. Manoukian
will highlight the sculptor’s creative development. In particular, some of his works in plaster
have been brought out of storage to be displayed, many for the first time, to illustrate the evolution of his work. The exhibition space, spread across 18 rooms, will be both a chronology of
Rodin’s life and a thematic exploration of his work. One room, ‘Rodin at the Hôtel Biron’, will
recreate the space exactly as it was when the sculptor lived and worked there, with its original
furniture, works by Rodin himself and pieces from his vast collection of antiquities, which was
an important influence on his work. This collection of thousands of fragments of Ancient Greek
and Roman sculpture, which Rodin used to buy in job lots from antiques dealers, will itself be
the subject of another room, ‘Rodin and Antiquity’. Some 100 pieces from the collection will be
displayed around Rodin’s seminal Greek-influenced sculpture The Walking Man, reflecting the
sculptor’s admiration of antiquity. Rodin also owned a collection of paintings by his contempo-
The Rotonde room and its
ornamental wood paneling,
© ph. P. Tourneboeuf / Oppic /
Tendance Floue
raries, and some of these will be displayed here, including Le Père Tanguy by Van Gogh, Edvard
Munch’s 1907 painting Rodin’s ‘Thinker’ in Dr Linde’s garden in Lübeck, as well as the newly
restored Théâtre de Belleville by Eugène Carrière. The furniture to display the sculptures in the
refurbished space has been specially designed thanks to the generosity of the Iris & B. Gerald
Cantor Foundation in the United States.The Hôtel Biron’s grand, wood-panelled reception
rooms have been painted using colours by British craftsmen in paint and wallpaper, Farrow &
Ball, also a sponsor of the project. The company specially created a new colour, Biron Gray, to
provide a subtle backdrop to the sculptures. The magnificent parquet flooring had suffered
greatly from the museum’s 700,000 visitors a year, and much of it has been replaced. A lift has
been installed for easier accessibility, as well as new bathrooms. For the first two years of the
Farrow & Ball Biron Gray,
created for the museum,
© ph. P. Tourneboeuf /
Oppic / Tendance Floue
renovation, half of the building was closed at a time to visitors. Since January 2015 the whole of
the Hôtel Biron has been closed to the public. In the meantime some of Rodin’s work has been
displayed in the building’s annex in the courtyard.
DETAILS OF THE RENOVATION WORK
Renovation of the Hôtel Biron → Adaptation of the building to meet accessibility regulations
(installation of a lift and toilets for the disabled, modification of the courtyard and pathways
as far as the garden café for people of reduced mobility); improved security for the entire
building. → Renovation of the building’s parquet floors and woodwork → Creation of new
visitor spaces, → Creation of additional space for museum staff → Complete redesign of the
museum layout, its furnishings and lighting.
Finance → Cost: € 16 million → 49% of the budget from the Ministry of Culture and
Communication → 51% of the budget from the Rodin Museum
Commissioning body → The Heritage and Cultural Buildings Operator (l’Opérateur du
Patrimoine et des Projets Immobiliers de la Culture) → Fabric of the building: Richard Duplat,
chief architect of historical monuments → Exhibition design: Atelier de l’Ile, Dominique Brard
The Rodin Museum is supported by the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
www.cantorfoundation.org
PRESS CONTACT UK
Kathryn Hone
Arts Europe
T. +44 2089775591 /
+44 7833595626
[email protected]
PRESS CONTACTS FRANCE
Sarah Grisot,
Céline Échinard
Observatoire
T. +33 1 43548771
[email protected]
[email protected]
THE RODIN MUSEUM
77 rue de Varenne
75007 Paris
T. +33 1 44186110
Metro Varenne, Invalides
Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am
to 5.45 pm Late-night
Wednesday until 8.45 pm
Tickets & program
www.musee-rodin.fr