Musee Rodin

Before bringing you your regularly scheduled post, a brief announcement: Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!! And no, I did not get the date wrong. Apparently the blog displays the date you started writing the post, not the day it was actually published. So it is your real anniversary today. Not many people get shout-outs on my blog, but since you're pretty cool (and since you are paying for essentially all of the experiences mentioned on this blog) you get a special mention. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Now, down to business. I have many aspirations for my time in France. Some are realistic, some are not. And then there are those that are mutually exclusive. For example, Aspiration #1 (sample every pastry variety in Paris) and Aspiration #2 (lose ten pounds so as to look more like a real parisienne) cannot coexist. Another, somewhat less contradictory pairing is the following: Aspiration #3 (explore as much as I can of Paris, France and Europe) vs. Aspiration #4 (update all of my six followers on every detail of said exploration). Because telling everyone everything that happens to me, would necessitate about 16 hours of blogging a day. And then I wouldn't do anything else, and I would have to start blogging about blogging and it would all become too unbearably self-referential and probably open up some sort of hole in the space-time continuum. Long story short, much of what I did in the past week is not posted here. But I do my best to compile the highlights of the highlights so that you don't miss anything too important. With this in mind, I would be remiss if I did not mention my visit to the Musee Rodin, even if it did happen nearly a week ago.

And yes, that was a really long introduction that has very little to do with the actual subject of my post. But I'm the one writing this thing, so all six of you will either have to deal with it or find a more concise, less pastry-obsessed blogger to follow.

Anyway...the museum. Oh the museum. It is duking it out with l'Orangerie for the prestigious title of "Alanna's Favorite Museum in Paris." Everything about it was perfect. Starting with the fact that I got in for free. You see, I have a very professional looking ID (read: a piece of green construction paper with my photo stapled to it) stating that I am an art history student and, as such, deserve free admission to just about any museum in Paris. I am not an art history student, but I'm managed to suppress my conscience for the sake of my wallet. Admirable, I know.

Truth is, I would have paid a considerable amount of money to visit this museum. For one thing, it has a perfect location. Perfect, but dangerous. I think the staff needs to add a sign stating "Caution: Your head may explode from simultaneous viewing of the Eiffel Tower, les Invalides and The Thinker. You have been warned." Seriously, how can you beat this?



The collections themselves are extensive, and housed in a beautiful old mansion. I've had much more exposure to painting than to sculpture, but I have to say I've always loved Rodin. The idea that someone can look at a solid hunk of marble or plaster and see a fully-realized figure inside of it is mind-boggling to me. So even though I knew that Rodin is generally considered to be an okay sculptor, I was still surprised by the detail in The Thinker. I've seen a million photos of it, but standing in front of the original is an altogether different experience. Apparently when Rodin described the sculpture, he said the following: "What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes." That quote is either attributable to Rodin or a remarkably clever and accurate Wikipedia contributor. Either way, it is absolutely true.



The thing I loved most about the museum, however, were the grounds. I'm a big fan of parks, gardens and green spaces in general. And the Musee Rodin has extensive grounds with beautiful flowers, fountains and sculptures scattered throughout. It was a perfect place to spend a quiet afternoon with a book and a camera.

Speaking of cameras, I did go a little crazy with the picture taking. But I think you all have realized by now that I am more than a little obsessed with this museum. If you are ever in Paris, go. I command you. And if you need more convincing, I will leave you with a selection of the appromixately 5,000 photos I took there.