In Room 18, Gondolas in Venice New Window (1908) and Les Nymphéas New Window (1917) by Monet interact with Rodin's busts of Jules Dalou, Jean-Paul Laurens, Victor Hugo and Gustave Geffroy. The two artists had close ties. They admired each other and exhibited side by side in Paris in 1889. They also shared critics such as Octave Mirbeau and Gustave Geffroy.
The renovation of the Musée d'arts de Nantes has enabled us to renew our collaboration with the Musée Rodin, which has generously agreed to deposit three works exhibited in Nantes:
- The Death of Adonis New window (bronze)
- The Three Shadows New window (plaster)
- Large clenched hand with imploring figure New window(plaster)
The sculpture Les Trois Ombres, which evokes L'Ombre, Rodin's original plaster cast that had long adorned the museum's Patio, is a subject that Rodin used for his famous Porte de l'Enfer, after Dante. For the occasion, this work has benefited from a fundamental restoration.
The coherent whole of this room, specially devoted to the two artists, shows the different facets of Rodin, from his small-scale works to his monumental sculptures. The latter interact with paintings by Monet and the Impressionists, sketching a portrait of what was known as modernity in 1900.
