CALAIS.- In 2025, the Calais Museum of Fine Arts continues in the transformation of its permanent exhibition, initiated in 2023. The spaces dedicated to Auguste Rodin, sculptor of the Monument to the Burghers of Calais which has contributed to the city’s fame, has been fully renovated.

This redesign of the Rodin Gallery is of particular importance to the museum, which has historically been very closely linked to the artist. Known as the father of modern sculpture, Auguste Rodin was commissioned by the City of Calais in 1884 to create the famous Monument to the Burghers of Calais. This sculptural group still stands proudly on the square before the City Hall. Eight other bronze copies, located across the globe, echo this seminal work.

The new Rodin Gallery at the Calais Museum of Fine Arts offers a glimpse into the context of artistic circles in the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century, through the specific figure and work of Auguste Rodin. This chronologically arranged exhibition addresses six successive themes, marked by five focuses on works of particular interest.

1- Rodin, visionary artist
2- Becoming a sculptor in the 19th century
3- The Gates of Hell: laboratory of creation
4- The Burghers of Calais: anatomy of a monument
5- Sculpting the urban landscape in the time of Rodin
6- Heritage and prosperity in the works of Rodin

The Calais Museum of Fine Arts has maintained a privileged partnership with the Rodin Museum in Paris for several decades. It benefits from a loan of 21 of the artist’s sculptures, thematically complementing those held by the museum. The reimagined layout of the exhibition highlights these 26 works by Rodin, alongside those of other 19th- and 20th-century sculptors. To these, the museum added a host of illustrations, as well as various sensitive and educational mediation tools. Particular attention has been paid to the content, which the museum hopes to make accessible to a wide audience.

The Rodin Gallery therefore joins the Gallery of Fine Arts, the first of the permanent-collection spaces to be renewed in 2023. It welcomes visitors and tourists seeking an introduction to the discovery of our city.

The Rodin Gallery is located at the front of the museum, opposite a landscaped park. It benefits from abundant natural lighting. Spread out over approximately 265 m2, with high ceilings, it highlights the modernist design of the building constructed by architect Paul Pamart in 1966. The museum has recently been awarded the ‘Remarkable Contemporary Architecture’ label by the Ministry of Culture.