Our first full day in Paris was very touristy. After our hotel breakfast, we grouped up and got a three day subway pass. Then we all traveled out to the Eiffel Tower area and went to the Musee Rodin museum. I loved this museum so much! (Number 1 Favorite) I got to see Rodin's famous sculpture 'The Kiss' about Paolo and Francesca. I presented on it too! Here's a little background knowledge of it.
This sculpture was first titled Paolo and Francesca before it was changed to The Kiss because Rodin was not interested in telling a story. But the story behind it is as follows: Francesca falls in love with her husbands younger brother while reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere. (You can see the book in Paolo's hand in the back of them) The couple were discovered and killed by Francesca's husband. The lovers' lips do not actually touch in this sculpture, which suggests that they were interrupted and met their demise without their lips ever having touched.
 |
| Lancelot and Guinevere Book in the hand of Paolo. (back view) |
After we saw The Kiss, we looked around some more at other Rodin pieces. For example, the Walking Man, the Age of Bronze, The Thinker, The Bourgeois of Calais and The Gates of Hell. In the Rodin museum there was also some Camille Claudel pieces. Claudel was a student and mistress of Rodin. It was said that Rodin copied some of her ideas as his own. Which one can see is true by some of Rodin's works.
After the Musee Rodin, we ventured off to the Tomb of Napoleon. Where there was a huge sarcophagus for him (which is ironic because of his small stature.)
There was also other tombs there but Napoleon of course is the most recognized. Fun fact: Napoleon actually did not die here. He was put here about twenty years after his death.
After the tomb, we went to get lunch. We ate at this little place on the corner in close proximity to the Eiffel Tower. The food was really good and I even tried Creme Brulee. It was very different-but good too. After lunch, we went to the Eiffel Tower! It wasn't a very clear day so we didn't go up, but we will before we leave. Its an amazing piece of architecture. Absolutely huge!
After the fun time around the Eiffel Tower (which we will go in sometime before we leave for sure!) we started heading back to our hotel. Once we got there, we went to get dinner at a shop down the road from it. After that, we came back to get ready for tomorrow. We are going to the Musee D'Orsay Tomorrow! Should be fun! But until then im outta here. Au Revoir!
Question of the Day: What was the biggest thing you saw today?
The biggest thing we saw today was the Eiffel Tower. A huge structure that came to be the symbol of Paris! At 1,063 feet tall, or 81 story building, the Tour Eiffel, was named after the designer Gustav Eiffel. It was built marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. The Eiffel Tower was a grand icon I'm glad I got to see!
Which Rodin sculpture did you like the most? Which the least? Why?
Let's start with my least favorite. I don't have one. Ok moving on to my favorite! Besides The Kiss, my favorite sculpture by Rodin has to be the Burgers of Calais. This piece is full of emotion! All the faces of the men show the grief that they are going through during this time.
I love Rodin's emphasis of the hands and feet on all of his pieces. They exaggerate the emotional aspect of his works.
No comments:
Post a Comment