Rodin Museum
See Rodin's bronze and marble works within a tranquil Parkway garden and intimate galleries.
Artwork inspired by Alexander Stirling Calder
Jules Mastbaum began collecting Rodin sculptures after a 1924 Paris visit and soon imagined a dedicated Philadelphia museum. He died before it opened in 1929, but his family carried the project through. The compact building and formal garden were designed to slow a visitor down: sculpture can be approached from different distances, as light shifts its expression.
Begin outside, where the garden and entrance establish the collection's scale, then look closely at small studies as well as famous bronzes. Ask how a cast relates to Rodin's original model; the physical object is more complicated than a simple label of “copy.” This is a shorter visit than the larger Philadelphia Museum of Art. The garden is free, and indoor admission is pay what you wish.
- Opened
- 1929
- Collection
- Rodin sculpture
- Admission
- Pay what you wish
Quick guide
- Start in the garden
- Let the approach reveal how sculpture changes with distance and light.
- Compare surfaces
- Find a polished passage and a rough one to see how Rodin directs attention.
Know before you go
- Meet Mastbaum
- Learn why a Philadelphia cinema owner gathered this collection.
- Circle one work
- The silhouette changes materially as you move.
- Look at a study
- Rodin's working process matters as much as his finished monument.
- Pause outdoors
- The garden frames sculpture without the larger museum's pace.
Good to know
The garden is free, but the building has a different schedule. This is a separate museum from the Philadelphia Museum of Art's main building.
Notice these
- Formal garden
- Rodin bronzes
- Intimate gallery