The Rodin Museum and Its Bronzes

Not so long ago, everything was looking up. The museum in Rue de Varenne in the 7 th arrondissement ranks among France’s most iconic institutions. A respectable figure of around 600,000 people visit it every year. It is especially popular with foreign tourists, who account for 75% of visitors. But the museum has suffered from a recent series of incidents. In 2015, when the Hôtel Biron , which houses the permanent collection, reopened after a three-year refurbishment, the outlook was bright. But the next day, November 13, a terrible wave of terrorist attacks rocked Paris. In 2017, just after the centenary of Rodin's birth, which went hand in hand with a sweeping retrospective at the Grand Palais, repeated strikes began, followed by the Yellow Vests protests. And these lasted until the outbreak of the coronavirus in early 2020, which forced the museum to close for over three months. A Self-funded Museum…