The museum was a gift from Jules Mastbaum to the city of Philadelphia in memory of his mother.
Paul Cret, the architect of the building, was a professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.
The collection includes over 140 works by Rodin, spanning his entire career.
The Gates of Hell, featured at the entrance, was an unfinished work that Rodin labored on for nearly 37 years.
The museum’s sculpture garden is designed to recreate the atmosphere of 19th-century French landscape design.
The Rodin Museum in Philadelphia houses one of the largest collections of Auguste Rodin's works outside of Paris. The site features a formal French garden designed by Paul Cret and Jacques Gréber to complement the Beaux-Arts architecture of the main building. Visitors enter the museum through a reproduction of the gates from the Hôtel Biron in Paris. The collection contains bronze, marble, and plaster casts, including iconic sculptures such as The Thinker and The Gates of Hell. The museum serves as an architectural landmark on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and functions as an extension of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It provides a specialized environment dedicated exclusively to the study and exhibition of Rodin’s sculptural output.
The central path leading to the entrance, framing the seated Thinker against the museum facade.
Walk through the outdoor sculpture garden before entering the building to see the larger bronze casts.
Check the official website for rotating temporary exhibitions that display rarely seen sketches or smaller studies.
Do not rush through the garden; the outdoor placements are intended to be viewed in relation to the architectural setting.
Closed on Tuesdays.
Maintain a quiet volume; touching the sculptures is strictly prohibited to preserve the patina and surface integrity.
