On Wednesday, June 9, Kathleen came down with a cold and was not up to sightseeing so she stayed at the hotel. Kathleen had been to Paris in the mid-1980s so she felt less of a need to see the sights than I did. As she rested, I went off sight-seeing for a few hours. I took the Metro as usual but this time the entertainment in the halls was not traditional Parisian accordian music but rather Caribbean percussion.
I have prepared an audio recording (114 kilobytes) in QuickTime format for you to download and enjoy.
My first stop was to be the Rodin Museum but on the way there I visited the Hotel Des Invalides. Invalides was constructed in1670 by Louis XIV for his wounded soldiers who otherwise would have had to turn to a life of crime to support themselves. The dome of the church of the Hotel Des Invalides seen below contains 555,000 gold leaves.
I arrived a little later at the Rodin Museum which is housed in the old Hotel de Biron. August Rodin (1840-1917), seen above, began living there in one of the artist workshops in 1908. In 1916 Rodin donated many of his best works to the Hotel and the Hotel was opened to the public when it was acquired by the government in 1922. Rodin's independent blend of Romanticism, Art Nouveau, and Naturalism can be seen in the photographs below.
Le Penseur (the thinker) is Rodin's most famous work.
La Porte de l'Enfer (the gates of hell) is a monumental bronze statue.
La Porte de l'Enfer: detail
Le Baiser (the kiss) is a romantic work in marble.
Many of Rodin's works are displayed on the grounds of the 8-acre garden surrounding the museum.