The Musée Rodin was Auguste Rodin’s first public museum, opening in Paris in 1919.
The museum is housed in the Hôtel Biron, an 18th-century mansion whose grounds became closely associated with Rodin’s later career. Rodin agreed to donate his works, collections, and archives to the French state, provided that the building and gardens would be used to preserve and exhibit his art.
Although Rodin died in 1917, the Paris museum opened to the public in 1919. Its collection includes sculptures, drawings, letters, and works Rodin owned by other artists. The gardens are especially important because many sculptures are displayed outdoors in relation to the building and landscape.
The museum is sometimes confused with the Musée Rodin site at Meudon. Both locations preserve Rodin’s legacy, but the Paris museum is the institution generally meant by Musée Rodin and occupies the Hôtel Biron.