A self-funding museum

Please note that the first floor of the Hôtel Biron will be closed Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27, starting at 2:00 p.m. Due to extreme heat, the museum will close at 5:00 p.m. (last admission at 4:15 p.m.) until and including Sunday, June 28. We would like to inform you that the permanent collection galleries are not air-conditioned. The Studio Rodin, located in the Chapel, is air-conditioned. Visitors are advised to stay well hydrated and to exercise caution during periods of extreme heat. From June 8 through July 24, the installation of a structure in the Sculpture Garden will make part of the area inaccessible. The artworks will nevertheless remain visible.

A self-funding museum

The Musée Rodin, under the supervision of the French Ministry of Culture, has unique status as the only national museum in France to be fully self-funding. Thanks to Rodin’s donation of his works and possessions to the French state in 1916, the museum can still meet this economic challenge over a hundred years later. 

The artist’s donation of his original molds and models and the associated intellectual property rights provided his museum with an enduring source of financial independence. Like engraving and photography, sculpture involves edition from a matrix. In the case of sculpture, up to twelve numbered casts can legally be produced; these casts are original works and can be sold by the museum.

The limit of twelve casts has now been reached for some of Rodin’s best known works, but many other lesser-known sculptures, representing different facets of Rodin’s art, continue to interest art collectors and institutions. The sale of original bronzes represents between 30 and 35 % of the museum’s annual budget. 

The Musée Rodin holds the moral rights to Rodin’s work. Its mission is to preserve, study, enhance and disseminate his work and collections and, like any other museum, to fulfill a public service role.