This September, the Musée Rodin in Paris will open its first international branch in Shanghai, according to the South China Morning Post. The new Centre d’Art Rodin will be housed in a Jacques Ferrier-designed building, originally constructed for the French pavilion at Expo 2010 in Pudong New Area. Supported by China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the French Ministry of Culture, and private funding led by French Chinese art collector Wu Jing, this initiative marks a significant cultural collaboration as France and China celebrate sixty years of diplomatic relations1.

Dedicated to the works of nineteenth-century sculptor Auguste Rodin, known for his naturalistic bronze and marble figures, the Musée Rodin is France’s only self-funded museum. The Shanghai outpost will be led by artistic director Kong Xianhe and will receive research and curation support from the French institution.

The inaugural exhibition, titled “Rodin: The Inheritance of Modern Sculpture”, will feature around fifty sculptures, including plaster editions of The Thinker (1904) and The Age of Bronze (1877), as well as bronze versions of The Kiss (1882) and The Walking Man (1907). The exhibition will also showcase works by Rodin’s disciples Antoine Bourdelle and Aristide Maillol, and his teacher Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. Additionally, Rodin’s collection of Chinese art, including a Guanyin statue, Tang-dynasty terra-cotta figures, and porcelain objects from the Ming and Qing dynasties, will be displayed publicly for the first time.

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