It was in the observation of nature, from this point foreword his only source of inspiration, that Rodin found this “feeling for Antiquity” which came through in his portraits, such as in Pallas with the Parthenon.
During the same period, the sculptor assembled a huge collection of antiquities, taking, from the Greek vases in particular, objects for assemblages in his sculptures. The visitor can see Rodin’s collection of works from Antiquity in his studio as well as pages from the albums of his imaginary museum, in a slide- show of old photographs from the Museum’s collections. The exhibition has had the benefit of exceptional loans from the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva, the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Marseille, the Musée des Moulages, Montpellier, and, in Paris, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, the Musée du Louvre and the Musée du Petit Palais.
The exhibition was undertaken on the initiative of Pascale Picard Heritage curator. www.musee-rodin.fr