Descriptions and engravings from 17 confirm that Biron doubled the size of the ornamental gardens (designed in the classical French style), developed part of the land into an English-style garden and had a large circular pool added.Īfter Biron's death, the grounds were occupied by various tenants before being sold in their entirety in 1820 to three nuns, one of whom was the Reverend Mother Madeleine-Louise-Sophie Barat. (In this case, 'Hôtel' refers to a 'hôtel particulier,' or a type of luxury town house.) Biron went about improving the grounds around the manor, ultimately creating one of the best-known gardens in Paris.

Peyrenc's widow rented out the property after her husband's death and later sold it to Louis-Antoine de Gontaut-Biron, from whom the mansion got its current name: the Hôtel Biron. It is a magnificent structure according to the museum's web site, it remains 'a shining example of the rocaille architecture that was fashionable at this time.' Peyrenc chose the site because its location in Paris would allow it to be used as a town house, while the estate was large enough to feel like a rural escape (the grounds alone are over 300,000 square feet).

It was designed and constructed by the chief architect to the King of France, Jean Aubert, and was completed in 1732, although Peyrenc didn't live long enough to reside in it. The building where the museum is located started out as a mansion built for French banker Abraham Peyrenc de Moras. Rodin's most famous works - The Burghers of Calais, The Gates of Hell, The Kiss, The Thinker - can be found here. It is open to the public and records over 700,000 visits annually. Located in Paris, just south of the River Seine and about a mile east of the Eiffel Tower, the museum and its grounds boast thousands of Auguste Rodin's sculptures, casts and drawings, as well as thousands of works of art the sculptor accumulated throughout his life. Several important scenes in Louise Penny's mystery, All the Devils Are Here, take place in the gardens of the Musée Rodin. This article relates to All the Devils Are Here

Penny all the devils are here