ALS in French, signed “Rodin,” one page, 7.75 x 10.5, Hotel de l'Ecu letterhead, February 18, 1914. Handwritten letter to his childhood friend Jean Limet, who the great sculptor later entrusted as a collaborator: he aided with the patina of his bronzes and photography of his works. In full (translated): "Take the photos of the marbles and plasters from rue de l'Université. We will do them at the rue de Varenne, when I come back, perhaps sooner than a month and a half. There are difficulties with the marbles, but they are good." In fine condition.
In 1908, Rodin rented four south-facing, ground-floor rooms at the L'Hôtel Biron (Rue de Varenne) to use as his studios. His rooms opened onto the terrace; outside the garden had run wild and probably made a strong impression on Rodin, encouraging him to place some of his works and part of his antiques collection amidst the greenery. The property was officially sold to the French government in 1911 (a year after it had committed itself to purchasing the Hôtel Biron) to house the Department of Civil Buildings. Rodin did his utmost to save the mansion and entered negotiations with the state. His offer was as follows: 'I give the State all my works in plaster, marble, bronze and stone, and my drawings, as well as the collection of antiquities that I had such pleasure in assembling for the education and training of artists and workers. And I ask the State to keep all these collections in the Hôtel Biron, which will be the Musée Rodin, reserving the right to reside there all my life.' In 1916, the National Assembly voted in a law that accepted the sculptor’s three donations and allocated the mansion and its garden to a museum, called the Musée Rodin, where the works donated to the French nation are exhibited.
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