Rodin Museum's Garden Bar returns with a groundbreaking exhibit | 6abc Loves the Arts

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- For the first time in its 90-year history, the Rodin Museum is showcasing sculptures not done by Rodin.

"This really gives us an opportunity to trace Rodin's legacy and understand his impact," says Alexander Kauffman, curator of the exhibition called Rethinking the Modern Monument.

It includes 16 works from the Philadelphia Museum of Art's collection that are paired with works by Rodin.

"Rodin, by the time he died, was the most famous sculptor in the world so any young sculptor coming up was really looking to Rodin," Kauffman explains.

Rodin's, The Kiss, was perhaps his most famous sculpture when Chana Orloff created a clever play on it called The Dancers: Sailor and Sweetheart.

"Famously, The Kiss used nude figures and it caused a huge controversy," Kauffman says, "It was called pornographic. She clothes her figures but still presents them in a very kind of erotic pose."

Man with a Lamb is by Pablo Picasso.

An artist better known for his Cubist paintings, Picasso created the work in Paris in 1943 during the Nazi occupation of France.

"He was basically under house arrest because of his association with the anti-Fascist movement," Kauffman explains. "After the war, it became a memorial to those who fought Fascism in France."

When you visit the museum, be sure to explore the grounds and gardens of the Rodin as well.

"It's free to come to the Garden Party," says Tim Cosgrove, General Manager of the Philadelphia Museum of Arts' catering arm Constellation Culinary. "We have a bar setup; we serve beer, wine."

There are snacks for sale or you can bring your own picnic and Cosgrove says, children and four- legged friends are welcome. "You can bring your drinks inside if you'd like; it is pay what you wish."

The Garden Bar is open Thursday through Sunday until Labor Day then weekends-only through September 29th.

"There's a really beautiful light that hits the museum right around five o'clock in the summer," Kauffman says, "It's really kind of a perfect evening.

Rodin Museum Garden Bar | Tickets | Twitter

2151 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130

Rethinking the Modern Monument : On view through the end of 2020

Open weather permitting. Evening tours are offered at 6:00 p.m. each day the Rodin Garden Bar is open