Museums abound in Paris, as I'm sure everyone knows. In the past week.5 that I have spent here so far, I've been to 6 or 7 museums already, and there are doubtless at least another 5 or 10 to follow. However, I must say that my favorite, or at least one of my favorites so far, has been the Rodin Museum near Napoleon's tomb in the center of Paris (I also visited N's tomb today, which was cool.).
I have a few pictures to show you all of the many bronzes and studies that were on exhibit in the Musée Rodin - you can see in all of them the sense of emotion, power, struggle, and strength that is his trademark, and is what makes Rodin one of my all-time favorite artists (though I am in no way an art expert at all).
I've uploaded a few photos from the museum so you can see exactly what I am talking about (although all of these works are so much more exciting to see in person).
What is probably Rodin's most famous work, The Thinker, a depiction of a man deep in thought with his chin upon his knee. To me he seems as if he's muddling through a thick ocean of thoughts, indeed too many thoughts for his human mind to handle at once, but the strength in his limbs and the determination set in his face assure me that he will eventually tunnel his way through the mess of thoughts in his head and find the light. A great work.
And here's me being touristy and posing in front of it.
Next up: The Burghers of Calais. Another one of my favorites, and one of his more despondent works IMO (though the large part of his work is, from what I could tell, mostly representations of human struggle and suffering), this piece depicts the 6 city leaders of the Calais, a city under seige which was abandoned by the king of France during the 100 Year's War and forced to surrender its top city leaders in return for the release of the siege by the English. The 6 city leaders carry the keys to the city and are, à mon avis, the very picture of misery, sacrifice, and despair, tempered however by understanding and acknowledgment of why things must be so. What amazed me most in this piece especially was the amount of emotion described in just the hands and faces of the figures. Take a closer look and see if you can tell what each of these men are feeling as they walk to their execution.
The Kiss, an absolutely gorgeous work that the girly romantic in me just can not help but adore. Look at it, does it not look exactly as a couple in love, intertwined in a passionate first kiss, perched upon a rock before a gorgeous sunset, should look? Absolutely beautiful. The girl in me is melting right now. But apparently Rodin came to despise this work as meaningless and petty. To which I say: PSHHHT. Men.
Close up of The Kiss. Sigh.
Now, The Three Shades, which I actually don't know much about and couldn't decipher from the name or the sculpture itself. The internet wasn't much help either for this piece. If anyone knows and would like to enlighten me as to what this piece is about, please do. I would love to know. Nonetheless, I think its a great work of art. The strength and tenseness of emotion in the muscles of the arms and legs are absolutely amazing. This, like all of Rodin's pieces, looks so completely human and yet MORE than human in that the tension visible in every muscle can portray to a tee the emotion and thoughts storming in his mind and coursing through his limbs as a result. My words can't describe, but perhaps a picture can:
Finally, here's me in front of the Gates of Hell, which is probably my top favorite of Rodin's work. Hundreds of figures, tormented by inner demons as well as the physical torture of Hell, comprise this incredibly powerful depiction of Dante's Inferno, which alas, I still have yet to read (though I've already bought it and it has been sitting on my shelf for at least a year). 
A bunch of literary and mythical allusions to tormented souls can be found throughout the work, one of which is Ugolin, the father who ate his children (I think??), seen below.
However, my favorite of the subjects depicted has got to be Paolo and Francesco in Fugit Amor, who are shown suffering for their adulterous love. Again, the girly romantic in me showing through. But whatever. Its art. Its allowed. (I have no idea why this image came out so big, although I did borrow it from another website because apparently I forgot to take a picture of this part of the Gates while I was there. My apologies for the awkward size.)
And that's it for pictures right now, but BTW, Stanford University (yes I know, hisssssssss) has a great collection of Rodins that, if you get a chance, you should really go check out. They have Thinker, Burghers of Calais, and the Gates of Hell outdoors, as well as lots more smaller pieces inside their on-campus art museum. Definitely jealous. Hisssssssssss.
Finally, before we part, a gorgeous shot of Notre Dame that I took tonight after dark, all lit up and beautiful. Enjoy!
And with that, bon nuit and à bientot!
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