In order to celebrate the bicentenary of Hugo's birth, the museum has proposed an exhibition putting together two colossus artists of the XIX th century: Victor Hugo (1802-1885) and Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). Fascinated by the writer and the politician, Rodin dedicated an important part of his work to him: about a hundred works, including drawings, sculptures, engravings, and photos. Mainly they belong to Parisian museums, notably to the Rodin museum. Rodin's thoughts are clearly visible from the creation of Hugo bust in 1883, to the two monuments one of which was erected in the Palais Royal in1909.
One of the highlights of the exhibition is the presentation of Monument to Victor Hugo ordered for the Pantheon in 1889: "my life's work, and made with much love",the artist later said.
The creation was long and hard as Rodin was working simultaneously on two projects: the first, for the Pantheon was abandoned, the other however, was kept for a public garden. In 1909, the second project was exhibited in the Palais Royal. This marble version is nowadays exhibited in the Rodin museum garden. |