A tour of the Rodin Museum, Montmartre and the Red Mill in Paris.
One of my objectives of the visit to Europe was to get to know the City of Light. And that dreamed day arrived, because on May 21 we left Heidelberg at 7:45 in the morning, mounted on the ICE light train that in a time of 3:25 hours, and at a distance of 464 kilometers, brought us to Paris. , but not before, through the German cities of Mannheim and Sàarcker.
After staying in a hotel, we went to visit this historic city: The Royal Palace; the Elysian Fields; the Louvre museum and its famous glass pyramid; the Arc de Triomphe, and the Place de la Concorde where we can see the Obelisk that Napoleon brought from Egypt. It should be clarified that the routes to these places were sometimes walking, and other times in the Paris Metro.
The next day, we toured the bridges of the River Seine and had a bottle of wine on the deck of a boat bent on its shore. Then, we were at the Eiffel Tower, which is under repair, and we toured it through the four cardinal points. Similarly, we entered the Rodin Museum, where there is a permanent exhibition of this French sculptor and there was a temporary exhibition of Picasso, the Catalan painter.
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The Rodin Museum
It was created in 1916 on the initiative of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), who donated his works and his private collection to the State of France. The museum’s permanent collection is in the Hotel Bixon, a prestigious mansion built in the early 18th century by architect Jean Aubert. The sculptor lived in it by renting four rooms in the main hall. In this hotel the writer Jean Coetau, the painter Henry Matisse and the dancer Isadora Duncan stayed at different times. It was the poet Rainer Maria Rilke who recommended the mansion to Rodin.
The museum is organized chronologically, starting in the Great Hall with the teachings of Rodin, his years in Belgium, and the themes of the sculptures “The Bronze Age”, “The Gates of Hell” and “The Burghers of Calais” .
We continue touring the building, and on the first floor are the monuments by Rodin, and some paintings by other artists, among which stand out “The portrait of Pore Tanguy”, painted by Vicent van Gogh, and which is one of the three paintings that the artist did when he arrived in Paris. This painting conveys a sense of serenity that Van Gogh hardly sought for himself. In the last room of the building, we saw the sculptures of “The Wayfarer” and the collection of antiques by Rodin.
Follow the news of El Espectador on Google NewsAt the end of the tour, you will find the large sculptures located in an immense 7 and ½ acre garden, divided into large areas: the rose garden to the north; trees and ornamental flowers to the south, and an area to rest from the walk.
After personally knowing the main sculptures, I can summarize that:
The Thinker : it is his best known work. It was initially sculpted as part of a larger work commissioned in 1880 by the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts project. In the form of a huge bronze gate, “Hell’s Gate” became Rodin’s most ambitious project, on which he worked for 37 years. It depicts the Italian writer Dante Alighieri, the author of the Divine Comedy, who is leaning forward to observe the circles of hell, and meditating on his work. He is a man immersed in his reflections, but whose body suggests a great capacity for action.
The Kiss : represents Paolo and Francesca, characters from the Divine Comedy. They were killed by Francesca’s husband, who caught them kissing. Both lovers were condemned to wander in hell.
The Burghers of Calais : immortalize the six burghers, who were rich and privileged men in the city of Calais in France and in the 14th century offered themselves to the English as martyrs to save their fellow citizens from the enemy.
The Bronze Age : initially called by Rodin as “The Conquered Man”, in reference to the defeat of the French in the war against Prussia.
The Walker : it is the image of movement. It arose from the assembly of the studies of a leg and a torso for the sculpture of San Juan Bautista.
The Cathedral : this sculpture brings together in the same work two right hands that belong to two different figures. Along with the suggestion of the hands raised in prayer, he considers as a cathedral the union of a man and a woman, symbolized by their hands, entails a conception of conjugal love.
Finally, the Rodin Museum is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 6 pm, and the entrance ticket per person is 12 euros.
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The artistic villa of Montmartre
On the third day, the visit to the Montmartre neighborhood could not be missed. This charming district at the top of Montmartre (or “La Butte”), located in the 18th arrondissement, is a former artists’ village in which Picasso and Dalí lived, and is home to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Sacre Coeur ). Steep, winding streets offer panoramic views of the city, while the iconic Moulin Rouge cabaret behind it draws tourists and nightclub audiences. In the trendy Lamarck area, you will find bars and cafes with a modernized vibe.
Some artists who lived for some years in Montmartre were:
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973): he painted The Ladies of Avignon in 1907 when he lived at the Bateau Lavoir. Pablo Picasso, George Braque and Juan Gris, who also resided in Montmartre, are considered the founders of the Cubist movement.
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989): he arrived in Paris in 1929 and that same year he presented his first surrealist exhibition. He had a studio in Montmartre and today his work is exhibited at the Espace Montmartre Salvador Dalí.
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890): the great Dutchman lived on the third floor of 54 Rue Lepic. Many of his paintings were inspired by the Moulin de la Galette.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919): is another of the artists who was inspired by the Moulin de la Galette when he lived at 12 Rue Cortot. For a time he had a table at Au Lapin Agile.
Edouard Manet (1823-1883): spent a lot of time in Montmartre. He scandalized the art world with his nudes, including his famous Olympia.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901): More than any other artist, he is associated with Montmartre for his drawings and posters of the Moulin Rouge dancers and other symbols.
Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920): the Italian artist arrived in Paris in 1906. His work was greatly influenced by Toulouse-Latrec and other Montmartre artists.
Edgar Degas (1834-1917): was born in Paris in 1834 and lived all his life in this city, especially in Montmartre. He died in this neighborhood in 1917 and is buried in the Montmartre cemetery.
The enchantment of the Moulin Rouge
In the entrance hall of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, built in 1889 by Josep Oller and Charles Zidler, is the poster that made Toulouse Lautrec famous overnight, who represented the dancer Goulue or Glotona, nicknamed that way for taking what was left in the diners’ glasses. Lautrec belonged to an aristocratic family, he was born with a disease that prevented the development of his bones, and he grew 1.52 meters and, being a short man, he received the rejection of his father and society. Thus it was that he found in painting and especially in posters, his inspiration and refuge. Montmartre was his spiritual stronghold, where drinking and debauchery were celebrated, and he felt very comfortable with that life. At Moulin Rouge, the spicy cancan dance was sexual and provocative, and the stars were the dancers. The painter Toulouse Lautrec for inspiration did not drink water, but a few glasses of a drink called Absinthe, known as the green fairy. This concoction is credited with destroying the minds of a generation of artists, causing them hallucinogenic effects. Alcoholic and sick, he died of syphilis at the age of 36.
Famous artists who have performed at the Moulin Rouge are: Mistinguett and the golden age of cabaret; Jean Gabin, music hall artist; Édith Piaf on the eve of the Liberation of Paris in the Second World War, and the actor and singer Yves Montand.
You don’t have to worry too much about the way you are dressed at the Moulin Rouge, because the dress is formal, but you don’t have to wear a jacket and tie like in Bogotá. Of course, we must bear in mind that you cannot wear shorts, bermuda shorts, sports shoes, or sportswear as we do in Juanchito. Once inside the premises, an usher accompanies you to your place. Shows are presented two per day. The first is at nine at night. They last two hours and most of the acts are topless. Price: 87 euros per person; does not include food or beverages. Dinner and show: 220 euros per person; Includes a bottle of champagne.
We finished our tour of Paris, and my maternal grandfather, Alfonso Morales Caicedo, from Manizales, comes to mind, who, at literary gatherings in Tumaco, impressed his companions by reciting from memory the sites and addresses of the City of Light. The paradox is that, he never had the opportunity to meet her …
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