Amelie Simier shows great energy, and also great passion when talking about the Musée Rodin Paris, an institution she has directed since May 2021. An expert in sculpture from the 19th and 20th centuries, she admits to having been surprised by the quality and quantity of sculptures in the streets of Santa Cruz, “in places where everyone can see them”. Yesterday he returned to Paris, after two intense days of work to finalize the details of what will be the future Rodin Santa Cruz de Tenerife Museum in the Viera y Clavijo Park. He not only visited what used to be the Las Asuntistas school, but also the sculptures on the Rambla, the Museum of Fine Arts or the seat of the Presidency of the Government, the work of the architect Fernando Menis, the same one in charge of the rehabilitation project of the Viera and Peg. He assures that the Rodin Paris and Santa Cruz Museum “has many things in common, among them the love for sculpture”. She says she is delighted that the future museum is right at one end of the sculpture walk on the Rambla, acting as the beginning and end of a unique artistic route, “it seems that it was made expressly to be there”. He predicts that the space dedicated to the French sculptor will be unique and extraordinary, of the highest quality, in which, he advances, “there will be many first originals, works that have not yet been made in bronze, and whose first edition will be in Santa Cruz.” DIARIO DE AVISOS had the opportunity to speak with Simier in the rooms of the Museum of Fine Arts, of which she was, as with almost all of Santa Cruz, truly delighted.
–What is it that has made the Musée Rodin Paris opt for Santa Cruz de Tenerife as the venue for the second space dedicated to the sculptor in Europe?
“We have many things in common, among them the love of sculpture. In addition, I have discovered that there are very direct links in the artistic history between Santa Cruz and Paris, it is like a continuity in time of that relationship. I was very surprised when I arrived at the large number of sculptures, especially on the Ramblas, of very good quality, and everywhere. From local, national and international artists, many of whom I was surprised to discover have a past in France in their history. I love that the future location of the museum is at one of the ends of that route full of sculptures, because it seems that it was made expressly for it to be there, as the beginning or end point of the walk through the sculptures of Las Ramblas”.
–And what can the Rodin Museum contribute to Santa Cruz?
“When Augusto Rodin, at the end of his life, thought about how he could make his work remain for posterity, he did two things. The first was to create the Paris museum and donate all his works and his copyrights to create the museum space, and the second was to give the museum the mandate to continue his work and spread his work internationally as much as possible. And that is what the Rodin Museum contributes wherever it goes, the dissemination of Rodin’s work. Thus, for more than 100 years we have been publishing new works with the artist’s original molds all over the world, such as the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, since 1930”.
–That is precisely one of the singularities of the Rodin Museum, creating original works through the artist’s molds. How is that process?
“The magic of sculpture, unlike painting, is that several sculptures can be made through an original mold by the artist. French law, in line with Rodin’s will, says that 12 is the limit of works that can be considered as original works in these bronze casts. Thanks to that there are 12 Rodin’s Thinkers all over the world. The law prohibits that there are more than those 12, so when you reach 13 it is no longer considered original. From then on, always using the artist’s original mold, they can be made in another material, but never in bronze, and these other works are called reproductions. There is no confusion between one and the other because by law it is established that it must be identified if they are reproduction or not”.
– Is there a limit to reproductions?
“No. But in this case what matters is the quality of the work, which has to be extreme. These are works that continue to use Rodin’s original molds, but are not made in bronze. In the reproductions, what rules is the quality of the molds, that is why the foundation is their custodian, and we also do scientific work for their conservation and restoration if necessary. For example, the mold of The Thinker is very old and very fragile, therefore, too many reproductions cannot be made, although, and that is a little secret, Santa Cruz will have one of the few reproductions that can be made. in the mold The Thinker. In this case, it is a sculpture that has sold out of the original 12, but we will be able to bring a reproduction to Santa Cruz”.
-So, do you already know what sculptures arearAre they in the Rodin Santa Cruz Museum?
“Precisely this visit has served to specify those details. For example, what is being proposed in the project is that the reproductions be in the garden, while the originals are inside the museum. And within the originals, the proposal is that Santa Cruz have the last of the sculpture The Kiss, which perhaps after The Thinker is one of the most iconic of Rodin. So Santa Cruz will have number 12 of El Beso”.
–And what other works are you talking about?
“There are many others. We are in discussion of what they will be. We want the Rodin Museum in Santa Cruz de Tenerife to be the best, of the highest quality, and as coherent as possible in the design of its collection. We are proposing to accompany the collection that is going to go to the museum with long-term loans of works from the original collection that cannot be copied and that is in Paris. Another proposal is that these works be in marble, in plaster, and among them one of those that we are proposing is the Gate of Hell, which is the most complex work by Rodin, which we would have in plaster. An original, six meters high, and always in loan mode. We are also putting on the table, from our originals, works that have never been reproduced in bronze through molds. They are works that Rodin made in plaster, and since no one ever commissioned them in bronze, they have never been reproduced in that material. As we can do it because we have the molds, what we have proposed is that Rodin Tenerife has some unpublished works, so that in the Santa Cruz collection there will be many unpublished bronze works that will not be found anywhere else in the world, to put it bluntly. somehow, they will be number 1 of the 12 that are considered originals. I think that in Santa Cruz there will be many number ones”.
–There is also talk that, for example, temporary exhibitions can be shared, so that visitors from Paris and Santa Cruz can find the same exhibitions…
“Of course. We expect there to be joint, rotating exhibitions between the two museums in Paris and Tenerife. But of course the museum is going to have its own politics, life and decisions.”
-In that sense, the Rodin Museum is characterized by being self-financing not only with the works and tickets, but also through the transfer of spaces for various events… Will the management of the Santa Cruz be similar?
“The idea, still under discussion, is that the two museums behave as cooperative partners, two members of the same family, who share synergies, with an exchange of good practices, but each with its own autonomy.”
-You have been in charge of the Rodin Paris Museum since May 2021, is the space in Tenerife one of the most important challenges you will face as director of the museum?
“Yes! (laughs). Not just for me, but for the whole team. We are delighted with the project. Projects like this are really meetings between artists, cities and teams, and something like this doesn’t happen every day. We have loved visiting the island, the city, we have discovered extraordinary things that we did not expect, and we really want to return”.
-During this visit you have been able to see the traces of the project by the architect Fernando Menis. Is there anything that particularly caught your attention?
“Very clever use of space and light for a site that already has the perfect conditions for sculpture. I admit that it is something that surprised me a lot. And I have no doubt that Fernando is going to do something wonderful with light and space. We are dying to see how he reflects what he has done, for example, in the Presidency building, which we have visited, to see how he is going to be able to link the local with Rodin’s sculptures. Architecture and sculpture are the same, without light and shadows they are nothing”.
-As an expert in sculpture, what do you think of the quality and distribution of works on the street that you have been able to visit?
“It is an extraordinary collection. All the great names in sculpture are present, in very well chosen places, so that the symbiosis between sculpture and its location is very good. Without a doubt, what I like the most is that they are in places where everyone can enjoy them”.