French museums welcome visitors back with major artist exhibitions 

With the loosening of many coronavirus restrictions, France’s museums have also started reopening with several major new exhibitions. Jeff Koons’ artwork in Marseille, Pablo Picasso show at the Rodin Museum and Auguste Rodin oeuvre at the Picasso Museum attract attention as the standouts among these exhibitions after several months of closure.

From May 19, the Museum of European and Mediterranean Cultures (Mucem) began presenting some of the most important works by Jeff Koons, whose works have been among the most valuable among living artists since the auction of his steel sculpture "Rabbit" in May 2019 for around 81 million euros ($99 million).

Among others, his steel sculpture "Balloon Dog," which resembles a dog made of balloons, and his famous "Hanging Heart," a steel heart with a bow, are to go on display.

The museum at the Old Port of Marseille has juxtaposed them with around 300 works from its rich collection of everyday objects from different eras. Koon's works in steel and aluminum are inspired by the world of goods and consumption, as curators point out. The exhibition runs until Oct. 18.

Meanwhile, in Paris, the "Picasso-Rodin" exhibition is set to become one of the top shows since the start of the pandemic. Going on view from May 19, this double exhibition is the first joint project of the Picasso Museum and the Rodin Museum.

Sculptures and works on paper by Rodin (1840-1917) are on display in the Picasso Museum while paintings and sculptures from Picasso (1881-1973) head to the Rodin Museum.

The aim of the double exhibition, which will run until January 2022, is not only to show the influence of Rodin on Picasso, who discovered the sculptor's formal language on the occasion of the Paris World Exhibition in 1900. At that time, Rodin had staged a major solo exhibition in the Pavillon de l'Alma. The double show also illustrates the unique aesthetic innovative power of the two artists.