450 Marble Works: Rodin's Astonishing Productivity

This is the marble gallery, home to around 40 of Rodin's marble works. During the years he used this building as his studio, he's said to have produced as many as 450 marble pieces here alone. That's an astounding output — while some great sculptors left behind relatively few pieces, Rodin stands out as one of the most prolific.

That said, not every piece was carved entirely by Rodin's own hand; he had assistants helping with production. And since marble was, then as now, an expensive material, not just anyone could commission such a work — it was typically wealthy patrons who placed these orders. Rodin, though, made a handful of marble pieces specifically for the museum he envisioned for his future legacy, and some of those remain here today.