Rodin Museum Opens First Overseas Branch in Shanghai

The Musée Rodin in Paris will open its first international branch, the Centre d'Art Rodin, in Shanghai in September 2024. Initially planned for Shenzhen in 2019, the project shifted to Shanghai, likely due to the city's economic and cultural growth. The opening coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China. Supported by the French Ministry of Culture, China's National Cultural Heritage Administration, and private funding from Franco-Chinese collector Wu Jing (founder of the Museum of European Art in Hangzhou), the centre will be housed in the former French Pavilion at Expo 2010, designed by architect Jacques Ferrier in the Pudong New Area. Kong Xianhe will direct the centre. The inaugural exhibition, 'Rodin: The Inheritance of Modern Sculpture,' will feature about 50 works by Auguste Rodin, including plaster versions of 'The Thinker' (1904) and 'The Age of Bronze' (1877), bronze casts of 'The Walking Man' (1907) and 'The Kiss' (1882), along with works by his circle such as Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, Aristide Maillol, and Antoine Bourdelle. Rodin's personal collection of Chinese art, never before exhibited, will also be shown. The exhibition is expected to last two years. The Musée Rodin, which also has a site in Meudon, had previously abandoned plans for a branch in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in early 2023 due to high costs and local opposition.