Garden Spotlight: The Musee Rodin in Paris

The Gates of Hell, based on Dante’s Divine Comedy, is located at the end of the walled garden. Rather than closing off the space, it hints at another beyond.

An Architect Picks His Favorite Paris Garden

Text and photography by Lee F. Mindel, FAIA

Architectural Digest, March 17, 2015

 

Like many people, I have a thing for Paris in the springtime—especially its gardens and in particular the one at the Musée Rodin. The building and grounds were constructed in the early 1700s by a wigmaker turned financier named Abraham Peyrenc de Moras and changed hands many times over the years. Hôtel Biron, as it became known, served as a seat for the papal legate, an embassy for the Russian government, and a boarding school, run by nuns. By the time Auguste Rodin moved in, in 1908, the estate was occupied by artists and the grounds were overgrown.

Rodin was deeply attached to the place and loved the gardens. When the government purchased the property in 1911, Rodin was allowed to stay. After Rodin's death, in 1917, the residence became a museum.

The garden here is hardly the most sophisticated example of landscape design; it’s a simple axial layout with a water feature at the center. Nevertheless, the integration of main structure, outdoor architecture, sculpture, and plants could not be better—or better reflect the museum’s namesake. Rodin cared about history (he was famous for immersing himself in the works and writings of his subjects), he loved plants, and he was obsessed with art and its ability to transform a landscape.

Click here to take a spring stroll through the gardens at the Musée Rodin.