The House of Auguste Rodin
By traveltripz on Mar 31, 2007 in Paris, France, Europe
I have always admired the works of Rodin since I first read a biography about him when I was a teenager. My favourite work are ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Thinker’. So I was really excited to be visiting the Rodin Museum in Paris.Originally the embracing couple appeared as part of a group of reliefs decorating Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell”. Rodin replaced the couple with another pair of lovers.
Originally The Kiss was titled Francesca da Rimin, because it depicts the Italian noblewoman immortalised in Dante’s Inferno who falls for the younger brother of her husband. The couple fell in love while reading about Lancelot and Guinevere, Francesca’s husband, Giovanni discovers the pair and kills them. The book is seen in Paolo’s hand. Their lips do not touch in the sculpture, suggesting they were interrupted and dispatched without the lovers having kissed
A stroll through the gardens is fascinating with a larger than life
sculpture of ‘The Thinker’ and ‘The Gates of Hell’.
We spent quite some time taking in the sights and exploring Rodin’s house.
The statue of ‘The Thinker’ was originally named ‘The Poet’. This heroic figure was meant to depict Dante Alighieri sitting in from of the The Gates of Hell, contemplating his epic poem ‘Divine Comedy’, which is considered to be on of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages.
The Thinker is instantly recognised as an icon of intellectual activiity.
