alt Hacker NewsThey don't use public money to produce them (and maintain the museum).
It is self-funded. Public, but self-funded.
So this has nothing to do with misspent public money.
The Rodin Museum is a piece of jewel in Paris that exists only because Rodin himself decided for things to be run that way on his deathbed.
The wish of the artist overrules the wishes of random people that "consume" his work.
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Whenever I explain this case I really do my best to make it perfectly clear that the Rodin Museum solicited and received public funds from the Ministry of Culture for the express purpose of 3D scanning its collection. This public financing is not (any longer) a state secret. And yet one thing in this world is certain: if you ask the Rodin Museum to comment on its operations or any public policy issue, they will make sure to mention that they are "self-funded"...
And, IMO, Auguste Rodin's wishes (real or imaginary) are utterly irrelevant. I don't mean to dismiss the sentiment motivating people's desire to respect an artist's perceived wishes, but in practical terms they are usually, and in this case definitely and in every respect, completely irrelevant.
I presume that when you read the article, you missed the part about the "written applications for public funding to produce [the] scans" -- which the author alleges the Rodin Museum falsely denied having submitted?