France 2014: Musee Rodin and Musee de Cluny

Often the buildings in which museums are housed have their own interesting stories, and the art and other exhibits are greatly enhanced by their setting. Such is the case with these two museums: Musee Rodin is housed in the Hotel Biron, an 18th century mansion in which Rodin rented several rooms; and Musee de Cluny - the National Museum of the Middle Ages, housed in two historic buildings - the northern thermal baths built in the late 1st century b y the Romans and the Hotel de Cluny, the Parisian home of the Cluny abbots built in the 15th century.

In the early 1900's, Hotel Biron became home to a number of creative people, counting Isadore Duncan, poet Rainier Maria Rilke (Rodin's secretary), and artist Henri Matisse. It had previously been a boarding school run by nuns for aristocratic young women; however due to the 1905 French law on the separation of church and state, the school was forced to close. It was due to be demolished when Rodin, at the height of his fame, began a campaign to make it a museum to house the works he would bequeath to the French government. They agreed and the result is a wonderful gardens and museum exhibiting his work.

The Burghers of Calais - commissioned by the city of Calais to commemorate the city leaders who offered themselves for execution to save the city during the Hundred Years War; saved by King Edward III's pardon.

Le Penseur or The Thinker

Balzac

This museum is very interesting, with many unusual and well preserved exhibits from the Middle Ages.

A number of fine examples of 12th and 13th century stain glass - many from Ste. Chapelle and the ones below of apostles Jean, Jacques, Paul and Pierre from the Chapelle du Chateau de Rouen.

The heads below were accidentally discovered in 1977, and were originally from the gallery of the Kings of Juda (1140's) on the front of Notre Dame. They were carried off during the French Revolution when it was mistakenly thought they represented the Kings of France.