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A Sculpture Garden Antoinette Le Normand-Romain

Orpheus 1892 bronze 145,7 x 103,5 x 115,5 cm S.1014 Photo : J. Manoukian

The garden of the Hôtel Biron is spread over an area of three hectares. It is divided into a rose garden, to the north, and a vast parterre in the south which was newly laid out in 1993. Several plans were envisaged at the time: restituting the embroidery motifs which decorated it in the middle of the 18th century, or recreating the wild area that Rodin knew, invaded by brambles and wild apple trees under which rabbits ran "like in medieval tapestries" (Rilke). But it was finally the proposal submitted by the landscape architect, Jacques Sgard, which won the day. While respecting the ornamental pool, the lawn and the rows of linden trees, the objective of this project was to bring back to life the naturalist theme so popular in the 18th century.

A large number of sculptures are presented in this renovated setting. While Adam, Eve, Meditation and the Spirit of Eternal Rest surround the pool in peaceful harmony, the number of bronzes has multiplied to include Orpheus, the Whistler Muse, Bastien Lepage, The Three Shades, two Caryatids, the major studies for The Burghers of Calais, gradually occupying all the available space. The garden has also been used for exhibitions of modern sculpture, in particular the Tribute to Linden Trees and to Rodin by François Morellet.

Eve 1890 - 1891 bronze 173,5 x 66,5 x 75,5 cm S.1299 Photo : J. Manoukian

The first bronzes were placed in the garden before the first world war. The large-scale Thinker, donated by a group of admirers, placed in front of the Pantheon in 1906 and then transferred with its pedestal to the Rodin Museum in 1922, was eventually accompanied by an enlargement of Ugolino, set in the middle of the ornamental pool in 1927, then The Gates of Hell, the second example in bronze cast in 1929 but only assembled in 1937, and The Burghers of Calais in 1937. The statue of Balzac, also an old bronze cast before 1936, was installed much later. A few marble works also decorated the garden, the most important being the Monument to Victor Hugo, inaugurated in 1909 in the garden of the Palais-Royal and then removed to the Rodin Museum in 1933. Being subject to the negative effects of humidity, the marble sculptures were covered in moss and gradually deteriorated. In 1995 it was decided to shelter them in the Galerie des Marbres, protected by huge glass walls. Visitors can now admire the sculptures from the outside, while the glass panels reflect the foliage of the garden and the facade of the Hôtel Brion and create a poetic atmoshere.

The large-scale Shade 1902 - 1904 bronze 191 x 111 x 55,5 cm S.1300 Photo : J. Manoukian

This new presentation has made it possible to increase the number of works on display and to group them together by theme. The last bay is devoted to Victor Hugo, with the figure of the poet dominated by the Tragic Muse bending over to inspire him, like in the project for the monument exhibited in 1897. As for the bronzes, they are regularly looked after in order to preserve their original patina. These measures, initiated in 1993 with the statue of Balzac, have been gradually applied to all the sculptures in the garden.

As at the beginning of the century, a few antique statues purchased by Rodin from Parisian antique dealers, are included to provide a contrast with the works of the sculptor. First of all, there is the "jewel" of his collection, a Headless Hercules, from the Roman era, about which Rodin said "This Hercules, so proudly arched, stands there in the most unaffected manner. He has been seized at a moment when nobody is looking at him. Every single muscle is vibrating with the desire to exercise, but no part of his being displays itself for admiration. It is in this way too that antique art stands out so sharply from academic art which claims, illegitimately, to be its descendant."

Here and there, torsos of nude men and women, Roman or modern copies of Greek originals, are presented in the way Rodin liked to see them, against a natural setting and modelled by the light of the day. "Nature and Antiquity are the two great sources of life for an artist. In any event, antiquity implies nature. It is its truth and its smile" (Rodin).

Headless Hercules Roman copy after a Greek 4th century B.C. original marble 183 x 103 x 55 cm Co.1107 Photo : J. Manoukian

At the bottom of the garden, the vista ends in a terrace and arbour next to a trellis concealing a children's playground. There are three openings in this fence, echoing the proportions of the three central bays of the Hôtel Biron and giving an impression of depth.