Our first full day in Paris started out at Musee Rodin. As the title describes, the museum is dedicated to the artist Auguste Rodin. When we first got there we gathered in the garden, where several of his larger sculptures reside. I imagine the garden is beautiful in the spring and summer months, but right now it's dead and slightly depressing. It had a great view though, we could see the Eiffel Tower from there. There were presentations on "The Thinker", "The Gates of Hell", and "The Kiss" before we went inside the museum. I was especially impressed by "The Thinker". In person you can really see the fine details of the muscles and skin of the man, while also the somewhat abstract and natural quality of the human form emerging from the bronze material. It was also much larger than I anticipated. "The Gates of Hell" was also a phenomenal piece. This may have been one of my favorite pieces to see in person thus far. First off, the fact that Rodin worked on it for 37 years and never finished it before he passed away is an amazing fact on its own. It's also so busy with details that it's hard to stop looking at it. There are so many figures weaving in and out of each other and spinning off of the flat surface of the gates that it's has a dizzying effect. The gates are meant to reflect the story of Dante's Inferno- which I think it successfully does. I think "The Thinker"'s placement also is quite successful in this piece- he truly stands out above the rest of the figures and it seems that he's foreseeing all that is to come. It's a beautiful, yet disturbing piece. I must say, though, even though there are 180 figures on the sculpture- there were spots that seemed empty. Like I said, I know it's unfinished, but I think it's obvious that it's unfinished by those blank spots- they do not look intended or compositional relevant. I wonder what Rodin had intended to go there and wish I could have seen what he would do...but either way, it's a magnificent piece. It's also worth noting the two Henry Moore sculptures in the garden. I was quite disappointed that I did not have a chance to go into the Moore exhibition; however, the two large sculptures in the garden were nice to see. They were large, bulbous forms that were somehow fantastical yet organic. Their pure color stood out against the varying landscape. I wish I could have compared these large-scaled works to his smaller pieces. Going into the museum, I had certain pieces in mind that I knew he did ("The Thinker", "The Kiss", and "The Gates of Hell") and thought that was really the extent of his work. I was so wrong. All of those pieces are highly realistic while maintaining his abstract concepts of thinking or a kiss. It was his pieces that are not as well known that really blew me away. What most impressed me was how expressive every single one of his pieces were- no matter what material he was working in: plaster, bronze, marble, or terracotta. There was always a sense of emergence from the material and it was obvious that not only was he talented, but was constantly referencing art history in his work. The first work that really grabbed my eye was "The Hand of God" or "Creation"- you could see this block of marble, with these two, huge soft hands reaching towards the sky molding something. It seemed so life-like that the hands could actually wiggle their fingers and mold the material between them. This was only the beginning. What was great was you could go from something very realistic such as portraits of people, such as "Eve Fairfax", to something more abstract such as "Sleep"- where there was just a rough piece of marble with barely a hint of a face, with delicately carved eyes and mouth. Though it was nearly there, it was distinct and soft. The concept of sleep rang quite clear. Rodin was a master of capturing pure emotion. If you look at "The Cry", which is a sculpture of a woman screaming, you can see the tense muscles in the face, the distorted twists of the skin, and the pain behind the eyes. Perhaps my favorite sculpture of his was "Danaid", which references a Greek legend where the Danaids were the fifty daughters of King Danaus which were to marry his brother's fifty sons. When the sons insisted on marrying the daughters, King Danaus insisted that they kill their bridegrooms on the wedding night. As a result, the Danaids were sentenced to the underworld where their punishment was to perpetually try to fill leaky jugs with water. Rodin, however, chose to represent one of them in a tearful frustration. She's slumped over, face down, on a rock, but her graceful form is present. The form is barely emerging from the marble and it's absolutely breathtaking. The soft skin against the rough marble, and the struggle of the human form try to break free is truly moving. I think this is why Rodin is so skilled- his ability to show the process and the material that he is truly working with while at the same time making beautiful, expressive pieces. I also enjoyed the room dedicated to Camille Claudel- like Fiona said, it's nice to see some female artists! I found her piece "The Gossips" or "Chattering Women" intriguing. What first drew me to it was the unique use of onyx marble. It was this pale green color with variations that played nicely with the skin of the females as well as added some depth to the backdrop of the sculpted scene. The piece showed how talented, yet similar to Rodin, Claudel was. It's evident that she too was well aware and skilled in her medium. There's a theory going around that Rodin copied or stole some of Claudel's ideas. I think this could be possible. Especially if you look at her "The Waltz", in which she originally sculpted a nude couple dancing through space and Rodin's "The Three Virtues". In both skinny, expressive females are draped in a very similar dress. It's hard to make such an accusation though, especially if they were working closely. Either way, it's nice to recognize a talented female artist and to see who Rodin was surrounding himself with. I'm sure she was an inspiration to him either way.
Following up the museum, we went to Les Invalides to see Napelon's Tomb. The building in which housed it was again, beautiful. I think all of the cathedrals, chapels, or churches we'll be experiencing in Paris will be gorgeous- they're all so grandiose. It had high arches with coves dedicated to various generals as well as a larger-than-life altarpiece at the end of the nave. The ceiling was this high dome with a soft painting at the top. The colored glass in the windows created blue and yellow light that streamed into various sections of the inside. When you got directly into the center of the building, there was a large circle that you could look down and in the middle was Napoleon's sarcophagus. It was gigantic. While it was very tall vertically, it was pretty small horizontally- which I found a bit funny. Aside from its size, the actual sarcophagus wasn't anything too detailed or visually interesting. Once we walked down to it we could truly see how large it was. It was circled by pillars of sculpted women holding various objects like a scroll. There were also some more side sections that honored other generals such as Napoleon III. It was pretty interesting to see how celebrated military figures are. Especially because America doesn't have anything like this.
Following the Tomb, Brittini, Danielle, and I decided we were going to visit the Eiffel Tower after we grabbed a quick bite to eat and I picked up some gloves since my hands were freezing. We were fortunate enough again to stumble upon a resteraunt where the waiter spoke English, despite my mental preparations to try and speak French. I was sort of nervous going to the Eiffel Tower because Fiona warned us about pick-pocketers there and gypses. In my mind, gypses are like Ezmerelda from that Disney Movie with Quazimoto- long, bright dresses, beautiful, and just trying to find love in the city of Paris. Fiona made them seem not-so-Disney-esque. Evidentally they're very tricky and will try and distract you by throwing things at you or saying you dropped something so you look away. The one example that concerned me was the idea they may hand you a baby then take your money. This would present quite a dilemma for me, am I supposed to drop the baby? As a result, I tried to stay away from any baby I came across at the tower. Furthermore, she warned us that due to threats, there were more security around the tower. I was thinking she meant police officers or security guards, but there were about 12 to 16 army men with machine guns walking around the grounds. It was a bit strange, but I guess it's safer that way. We did see a guy get arrested for selling fake souvenirs. That was sort of interesting. Aside from the paranoia, the tower was gorgeous. I thought I was going to be a bit numb to it since it's something I've seen in photographs and miniature sculptures and paintings all my life, but it was stunning. The intricate details of the metal mixed with the garden (though everything was dead due to the winter season) mixed with the height was amazing. The negative space the metal designs created against the sky were wonderful. It was a brilliant architectural wonder. We were going to go up the tower, but it was quite foggy so we decided not to waste the money if we weren't going to see anything. But we're definately going to come back and go to the top. After we took our million photographs of the building, we just began wandering around the area. We walked around the accompanying park, and over a bridge to the other side and walked along the river. We didn't have a destination- we were just enjoying the view. I must say, though, it is much colder in Paris than in London. There are also more homeless people, which is a bit depressing, especially the ones with the adorable puppies. However, we've been really good about ignoring sketchy people and hiding our belongings. Either way, we had a nice afternoon of ducking in and out of shops and boutiques, wandering around parks, and enjoying the architecture. There are a lot of beauitful monuments and classically-inspired buildings. It's just a bummer all the plants are dead and it's so cold.
When we decided to head out for dinner we wandered down the road that's near our hotel. Since the three of us are so indecisive, it took us a while to settle on a place. We decided to go to this grill and burger place. When we walked in we asked if they spoke English, which they did not. Furthermore, they barely spoke French. So...we had to point and mime what we wanted. It was sort of like Scattegories but more was at stake: food. Either way, everything worked out and we thanked each other and the food was surprisingly really good. So I guess that worked out. I'm getting less nervous about talking to people here. So far everyone has been very friendly and patient with us. If they don't speak English, they're willing to figure out what we're saying. So that's good. It's not as scary as I was thinking it may be.
The rest of the night was spent in the hotel trying to figure out something to do. Similar to London, a lot of things close at 5 or earlier. So we were looking at a brouchure that was listing the top ten things to do in Paris- most of which were museums or monuments that we're doing with the class, so that didn't really help. We looked through books and in brouchures and we couldn't really decide on anything. We want to go to the ballet, but can't seem to find a show that corresponds with our available days. We may try and go to the circus, because that's relatively cheap and looks really fun. Brittini and I are trying to reserve tickets to go to the Moulin Rouge. We thought it'd be a once in a life time experience and an excuse to dress up since we both brought dresses. In summation, we didn't end up doing anything. We sat around trying to figure something out before we all just fell asleep. Ah well, maybe we'll be more interesting and productive people tomorrow.
Question of the Day: Describe in detail one object that you have seen today as though you were explaining it to a person who cannot see.
Imagine a perfect replica of a human figure. That figure is nude. All the muscles can be seen; the defined calf muscles, the thigh muscles, and even the abdomen appear as if they are from a fit man. The legs are spread a little more than shoulder width apart. The feet point forward in a determined position. The upper part of the torso is riddled with slashes and cuts with a rough finish. The arms are hacked off. The neck stops at a jagged stump. It seems that a perfect sculpture of a human figure has been chopped away with a machete. The bronze is a shiny black-ish tint. This is Rodin's "Walking Man".
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