This spring is Auguste Rodin season in Paris, with city-wide events marking 100 years since the death of the artist in 1917. A special exhibition at the Réunion des musées nationaux Grand Palais opened on Wednesday, but on the same day, workers at the Musée Rodin, the institution that co-organized the show, went on strike, closing the museum.
Staff on strike claim their working conditions are getting “worse day by day” according to a letter penned by the National Syndicate of Museums (SNMD) to culture minister Audrey Azoulay, dated March 14, Le Figaro reports.
As a result, the museum has been closed for the past two days. Those on strike include security guards, welcoming and box office staff.
French President François Hollande and US philanthropist Iris Cantor attend the opening of an exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris on March 20, 2017 marking the centenary of Rodin’s death. Photo courtesy of Christian Hartmann/AFP/Getty Images.
In a Facebook post, the Musée Rodin redirects viewers to the Grand Palais for the centennial exhibition, which includes over 200 works by the artist, as well as works by artists influenced by him such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Constantin Brancusi, and several more.
The show also focuses in on Rodin’s relationship with his audience.
Rodin’s work in drawings, sculpture, and photography have been profoundly influential on other artists, and pre-empted drawing techniques by German expressionists, photographic styles by Brancusi and Henry Moore, and spawned “Rodin periods” in other major sculptors’ careers.
“Rodin, the Centennial Exhibition” is on view at the Grand Palais until July 31st, 2017.