Anselm Kiefer, Auguste Rodin: les cathédrales de France, 2016, photo Georges Ponce

« I bequeath to the state all my works in plaster, marble, bronze and stone together with my drawings and the collection of antiquities I had such pleasure in assembling, for the education and training of artists and workers. » This sentence in Auguste Rodin’s will led Catherine Chevillot, director of Musée Rodin, to invite Anselm Kiefer in the storerooms of the museum five years ago. The exhibition opening today is the result of extensive research and painting by the maverick artist.

Auguste Rodin, “Ornament”, Paris, Musée Rodin, photo J de Calan

A hundred years ago, just before he died , Rodin published a book on the cathedrals of France. Following in his steps, Anselm Kiefer went to Chartres, Melun and Etampes and created some books of drawings on that theme. He then built showcases with fragments of plaster casts abandoned by Rodin.

Auguste Rodin, “L’Absolution”, plaster , cloth and wood, photo Pauline Hisbacq

The show is in three parts : Kiefer’s majestuous paintings and sculptures are exhibited in the former chapel, turned into an exhibition space on rue de Varenne. Rodin’s drawings of cathedrals and female figures are shown in the main house with different plaster sculptures and the « Absolution », the statue in fabric and plaster recently restored by the Tefaf Museum retauration fund. Musée Rodin always operates the same magic with its beautfiul garden and wax scented rooms. Kiefer gives us a reason to visit again.

Anselm Kiefer, “Sursum Corda”, photo Georges Poncet

Next week,  « Rodin, the Centenary exhibition » opens at Grand Palais and on March 26, the much awaited Musée Camille Claudel opens in Nogent-sur-Seine, fifty minutes south east of Paris, in the house Rodin’s lover lived in when she was 12. Forty three of her sculptures will be exhibited with other sculptors of her time.

A hundred years after he died, Rodin’s generosity to the French State is well celebrated. (Until October 22)