Rodin Museum

Paul Philippe Cret and Jacques Greber
1927-29



A classical temple on a high podium

Housing the largest collection of Rodin's works in the United States, this museum and beautiful site on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway was deigned by the French-American architect and urban planner, Paul Philippe Cret. A professor at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Cret is credited with the design of Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Rittenhouse Square in that city as well as several structure. Although trained at École des Beaux-Arts in Paris which influenced the classicism of many of his buildings, other works have a kind of simplified modern look. (See here for some of Rodin's sculptures in this museum.)
 
 

A formal garden with reflecting pool (emptied of water when this photo was taken)

Greber, a French landscape architect, collaborated with Cret on this project.
 

Gateway based on the Chateau d'Issy

Rodin's sculptural works are incorporated in the architectural design--here The Thinker and in the formal portal, The Gates of Hell.
 
 


See other examples of Cret's works in artists' index on this site.

Work Consulted:
Foundation for Architecture, Philadelphia. Philadelphia Architecture. A Guide to the City. Second Edition. Philadelphia: Foundation for Architecture, 1994

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© 2008 Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.