Musée d’Orsay
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This wonderful collection covers a variety of art forms from the 1848–1914 period, including a superb Impressionists section. Its setting, in a converted railway station, is equally impressive. Built in 1900, in time for the Paris Exposition, the station was in use until 1939, when it was closed and largely ignored, bar its use as the location for Orson Welles’ 1962 film, The Trial . It was later used as a theatre and as auction rooms, and in the mid-1970s was considered for demolition. In 1977, the Paris authorities decided to save the imposing station building by converting it into this striking museum.
More on Paris museums More on Paris art galleries
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1. The Building
The former railway station which houses this museum is almost as stunning as the exhibits. The light and spacious feel when one first steps inside, after admiring the magnificent old façade, takes one’s breath away.
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2. Van Gogh Paintings
The star of a star collection is Vincent Van Gogh (1853–90) and perhaps the most striking of the several canvases on display is the 1889 work showing the artist’s Bedroom at Arles . Also on display are self-portraits, painted with the artist’s familiar intensity.
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3. Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe
Edouard Manet’s (1832–83) controversial painting (1863) was first shown in an “Exhibition of Rejected Works”. Its bold portrayal of a classically nude woman enjoying the company of 19th-century men in suits brought about a wave of virulent criticism.
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4. Olympia
Another Manet portrayal (1865) of a naked courtesan, receiving flowers sent by an admirer, was also regarded as indecent and shocked public and critics alike, but it was a great influence on later artists.
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5. Blue Waterlilies
Claude Monet (1840–1926) painted this stunning canvas (1919) on one of his favourite themes. His love of waterlilies led him to create his own garden at Giverney to enable him to paint them in a natural setting. This experimental work inspired many abstract painters later in the 20th century.
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6. Degas’ Statues of Dancers
Edgar Degas’ (1834–1917) sculpted dancers range from the innocent to the erotic. Young Dancer of Fourteen (1881) is one of the most striking and the only one exhibited in the artist’s lifetime.
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7. Jane Avril Dancing
Toulouse-Lautrec’s (1864–1901) paintings define Paris’s belle époque . Jane Avril was a Moulin Rouge dancer and featured in several of his works, including this 1895 canvas.
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8. Dancing at the Moulin de la Galette
One of the best-known paintings of the Impressionist era (1876), the exuberance of Renoir’s (1841–1919) work captures the look and mood of Montmartre.
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9. La Belle Angèle
This portrait of a Brittany beauty (1889) by Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) shows the influence of Japanese art on the artist. It was bought by Degas, to finance Gauguin’s first trip to Polynesia.
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10. Café des Hauteurs
As a rest from all the art, the Musée d’Orsay’s café is delightfully situated behind one of the former station’s huge clocks, making a break here an experience in itself. The food is good too.
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Amazing museum, in a really interesting building. Get there early though - long queues, especially when the weather's bad.
about 7 months ago
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