Revamped Rodin Museum to reopen in Paris

The French prime minister on Monday inaugurated the revamped Rodin Museum in Paris, which is set to open to the public later this week following three years of renovation work.

The museum, dedicated to the work of French sculptor Auguste Rodin, famed for his statue "The Thinker", is one of the country's most popular museums with around 700,000 visitors a year.

French premier Manuel Valls recalled visiting the museum with his artist father and hailed the sculptor's determination to present "his vision, how things really are" in the face of convention.

The historic Hotel Biron, which has housed the museum since 1919, underwent a complete overhaul over the last three years, for the first time since Rodin himself used it as his Paris studio until his death in 1917.

The museum said the new layout will highlight Rodin's creative development and allow some works to be brought out of storage and displayed for the first time. It reopens to the public on Thursday.