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Monet & Rodin Private Tour

Monet & Rodin
From€599
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Skip the line & Local Expert Guide

  • 100% Private TourYou and your party only
  • Local GuideEnglish Speaking
  • Flexible CancellationHere to help
  • 4 Hours
  • Entrance of Orangerie Museum77 rue Galande, 75005 Paris
  • Wheelchair AccessOpen to all

Monet & Rodin are not only two of the most important artists in Modern Art, but also two great friends& rivals who respected and loved to challenge one another. This unique private tour of Orsay & Rodin Museums will take you through an artistic journey like no other, exploring the very place where art was changed for generations and understanding how Paris became the cultural center of the world.

Highlights

  • Skip the long lines at the Orsay & Rodin Museums.
  • Gaze at the stunning Water Lilies & Poppy flowers by Monet.
  • Explore the artistic Paris of La Belle Epoque thanks to your private guide.
  • Unveil the secrets of The Thinker, The Kiss & the Gates of Hell by Rodin.
  • Enjoy & feel free to ask all questions to your private local guide.

What's Included

  • English-speaking licensed guide, dedicated to you and your party only!
  • 4-hours private tour dedicated to Monet & Rodin works.
  • Skip-the-line access to the Museum.

Why You'll Love It

If you like impressionism and have a soft spot for friendship stories, you should visit the Musée Rodin. There you will find a friendly letter from one famous sculptor to one famous painter. An exchange between Rodin and Monet.

Rodin and Monet were born only two days apart in the 19th century. Although it is unclear how they met, they shared a strong friendship and deep admiration for each other’s work. They both searched for nature in their respective art forms. Apparently, when Rodin first saw the ocean, he exclaimed: “It is like a Monet!”. However, despite their admiration for each other, their careers developed very differently.

Rodin and Monet’s polar careers

The impressionist painter knew success before the sculptor, a success tainted by critiques and sarcasm. Rodin’s work finally received the recognition it deserved in 1880, when the state bought his L’Âge d’Airain (The Age of Bronze) and placed an order for The Gates of Hell (which he delivered 30 years later). Simultaneously, Monet’s masterpieces were met with scorn, leaving the impressionist painter in a financially difficult situation.

A difficult exhibition

Later in the decade, Monet and Rodin organised an exhibition of their work together at The Exposition Universelle of 1889. It was important for Monet to show his work next to Rodin’s, so the sculptor’s reputation could shed a nicer light on his paintings. However, the day of the opening, the situation almost turned into a disaster when Monet found Rodin’s sculptures standing in front of his paintings, hiding them. This raised a conflict between the two artists, to say the least. Nonetheless, the incident didn’t end the friendship and the exhibition turned out to be a huge success, as it received positive reviews from both the public and the critics.

Happy endings

Monet and Rodin kept in touch after the exhibition, even though they saw less of each other since Monet moved to Giverny. They still shared a common artistic purpose, just like when Rodin helped Monet get Manet’s Olympia into the Louvre as soon as the painter asked. Monet also donated a large amount of money for the enlargement of The Thinker (a gift to the city of Paris) even though he lived modestly.

Our great Monet & Rodin private tour will combine the mesmerizing Water Lilies & Poppy flowers paintings of the Orsay museum and the Thinker and other treasures of the Rodin museum of Paris. In 4 hours, you will understand the friendship and the connections between the collections of these two giants of Art history. Oh, and we skip the lines at both museums of course!

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