Pattersons in Paris: Rodin Museum

The Rodin Museum had been closed except for the gardens until this week. It is going through a major renovation and this week half of the museum opened with Rodin's major works. Kate's friend Julian arrived from Germany for a visit and the museum was on his list so a few of us walked over to see it on Thursday. My nephew Chris is also visiting and even though the Rodin Museum was not on his list, I told him he had no choice and he had to come with us. On the way we passed Les Invalides where it looked like they were having some kind of a cook-off.

Cook-Off at Les Invalides

There were a lot of cameras, teams of chefs wearing color coded aprons and tables of produce. We never did figure out exactly what was going on.
We enjoyed walking around the gardens at the Rodin Museum. We saw the Gates of Hell and the Burghers of Calais.

Julian and the Gates of Hell

The Burghers of Calais

The Gates of Hell was commissioned for a Decorative Arts Museum in Paris that was never built. It is based on Dante's Inferno and includes The Thinker at the top, The Kiss, Ugolino and his Sons, and other sculptures often seen individually.
The Burghers of Calais was commissioned by the city of Calais to commemorate the sacrifice of the city leaders during the Hundred Years War between France and England. England laid siege to the city. The King of France, despite promises, did not come to its rescue and the people were starving. King Edward III of England offered to spare the city if six of its leaders would sacrifice themselves. He demanded that they walk out almost naked, wearing nooses around their necks, and carrying the keys to the city and castle. One of the wealthiest of the town leaders, Eustache de Saint Pierre, volunteered first, and five other burghers soon followed suit, stripping down to their breeches. It was this moment, and this poignant mix of defeat, heroic self-sacrifice, and willingness to face imminent death that Rodin captured in his sculpture. King Edward ended up sparing their lives because the Queen convinced him that killing the burghers would be a bad omen for their unborn child. The sculpture is a bit larger than life, each burgher has a different emotion on his face, and we noticed how large their hands and feet were.

Chris and a Study for one of the Burghers

Chris was actually enjoying the museum and strolling around the garden.

There was a beautiful view of Les Invalides from Rodin's Garden and the fountain. We weren't so sure whether we would have put the sculpture of Ugolino and his Sons (he is about to eat them because he is starving) in the middle of the fountain.