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The newly beautified Rodin Museum gardens make for a perfect summer picnic spot. (Photo by M. Stewart)

The Rodin Museum, located just a few blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, is in the midst of a three-year rejuvenation project that will enhance the site’s gardens, exterior and interior.

The first phase of the renovations, the re-landscaping of the museum’s courtyard and beautiful gardens, will be unveiled tomorrow, July 14. The gardens now enhance the entire block between 21st and 22nd Streets on the Parkway.

The three-year project has restored the site’s harmony of art and nature. The unveiling takes place on Bastille Day, which was chosen in order to honor French sculptor Auguste Rodin, as well as Paul Cret and Jacques Gréber, the original architects of the Rodin Museum and garden and the Parkway.

Later this summer, the Rodin Museum will be closing for renovations on September 6 this year, the day after Labor Day.

The improvements to expect include reconceived galleries and freshly written interpretive materials. Also, some of the sculptures will be moved outdoors, and elegant bronzes that once graced the exterior will be restored to their rightful niches

The historic museum — one of the largest Rodin collections in the world — is slated to reopen in late spring 2012, complementing the grand opening of the Barnes’ new Parkway location (more on that soon!).

Check out a rendering of the completed gardens, below.

Rodin Museum
Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 22nd Street
www.rodinmuseum.org

OLIN landscape architects, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Fairmount Park Commission and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society collaborated on the project to renew and showcase the Rodin Museum's urban oasis. (Image courtesy Rodin Museum)