Rodin and Napoleon

Several years ago the North Carolina Museum of Art had an exposition of Rodin's work that was on tour from Musee Rodin in Paris. It was but a few pieces of his work, some casts, and models. We were impressed. Today we went to the Musee Rodin.  We were very impressed.  

From looking at and reading and hearing about these eight men -The Burgers of Calais - it is apparent, to me at least, that Rodin thought a great deal of these men, who they were, what they had done for their city and at what great peril they offered their lives. There are many partial pieces of this bronze work as Rodin worked to get it just as he wanted, multiples of each individual, and sometimes of just a hand or head. It is my favorite Rodin piece - and there are a lot of them too.

Hint for the day, avoid the Gates of Hell. If they resemble Rodin's image, it does not look good for the other side of those doors. (little known fact- the Thinker is actually part of this image — look top center just under the three men— who are not celebrating).

The Thinker and other noted pieces are taken from this piece and done separately as large bronze works - placed in the garden surrounding the former mansion where Rodin lived and worked. As are the individuals in the Burgers of Calais, each done individually. The works in this museum are overwhelming.

Next to the Musee Rodin is the Musee de Armee. We skipped the cavernous halls of the great buildings in the museum, (mostly they contain rows of weapons and uniforms from the looking we did). We went through to the Chapel. We did notice the serious visage of Napoleon looking down on us. These buildings were originally built as a retirement home for soldiers by King Louis XIV in the late 1600s.

This is the front of the Church of the Dome, originally built by one of the later King Louis's, this is not a full fledged cathedral or church, just a chapel attached to the church built for the soldiers - the dome is the separate entrance for the kings.

In the main body of the Chapel hang flags taken from the field of battle from victories over centuries past. The only insignia I recognized was what appeared to be a German Iron Cross from what would have been World War I but after the first months of 1914, any use of battle flags and such would have surely stopped is my guess as we saw no evidence of their use in the trench warfare of the Western Front.  Of course the Iron Cross is not a new symbol either.  

Napoleon's mausoleum. That is about 16 feet high if I remember correctly, marble, and encloses about four or five nested caskets. Napoleon died in 1821 and his body was moved 20 years later from St. Helena where he was in exile for the last six years of his life. 

In the museum there was a temporary exhibit of household items from the Island of St. Helena house that he lived in including one of Napoleon's uniforms. The exhibit is here on loan while the house he lived in is being repaired. The items then go back to St. Helena. It is far far away in the ocean off the west coast of Africa. Look on a map.

In addition to the exhibit about Napoleon's home in exile, we saw bit of the exhibit on Charles de Gaulle. A great documentary film about his life. He had such an impact on modern France and was an historical figure that we can well remember.