MUSÉE D’ORSAY
This wonderful collection covers a variety of art forms from the years 1848 to 1914, and includes a superb Impressionists section. Its setting, in a converted railroad 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, although it was the location for Orson Welles’ 1962 film The Trial. It was later used as a theater 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.
NEED TO KNOW
1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 • 01 40 49 48 14 • www.musee-orsay.fr • Open 9:30am–6pm Tue–Sun (Thu till 9:45pm); closed May 1, Dec 25 • Adm $16 (under 18 free, under 26 free, EU only), $12 for 18–25 non-EU; free first Sun of month; to beat lines, buy tickets online or at the Office de Tourisme
- The busy restaurant is open for lunch, plus dinner on Thursdays; closed Monday. For a snack or a drink try the upper level café (Café Campana) or the self-service mezzanine café just above.
- Music concerts are often held. Call 01 53 63 04 63. Concert tickets include free museum entry.
Gallery Guide
As soon as you enter the gallery, collect a map. The ground floor houses works from the early to mid-19th century, as well as striking Oriental works, decorative arts and a bookstore. The middle level includes Naturalist, Symbolist, and Post-Impressionist paintings, and sculpture terraces. The upper level is home to the Impressionist galleries. The museum also features temporary exhibitions focusing on 19th-century artists, such as Manet, Renoir, and Degas.
1. The Building
The former railroad station that houses this museum is almost as stunning as the exhibits. The light and spacious feel upon stepping inside, after admiring the magnificent old façade, takes one’s breath away.
The Building
2. Van Gogh Paintings
The star of the collection is Vincent Van Gogh (1853–90) and the most absorbing of the canvases on display is the 1889 work showing the artist’s Bedroom at Arles. Also on display are some of the artist’s self-portraits, painted with his familiar intensity (Rooms 71 and 72).
Van Gogh Paintings
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 criticism (Room 29).
4. Olympia
Another Manet portrayal (1865) of a naked courtesan, receiving flowers sent by an admirer, was also regarded as indecent, and shocked the public and critics, but it was an important influence on later artists (Room 14).
5. Blue Water Lilies
Claude Monet (1840–1926) painted this stunning canvas (1919) on one of his favorite themes. His love of water lilies led him to create his own garden at Giverny in order to paint them in a natural setting. This work inspired many abstract painters later in the 20th century (Room 36).
6. Degas’ Statues of Dancers
The museum has an exceptional collection of works by Edgar Degas (1834–1917). Focusing on dancers and the world of opera, his sculptures range from innocent to erotic. Young Dancer of Fourteen (1881) was the only one exhibited in the artist’s lifetime (Room 31).
Degas’ Statues of Dancers
7. Jane Avril Dancing
Toulouse-Lautrec’s (1864–1901) paintings define Paris’s belle époque. Jane Avril was a famous Moulin Rouge dancer and featured in several of his works, like this 1895 canvas, which Toulouse-Lautrec drew from life, in situ at the cabaret (Room 10).
Jane Avril Dancing
8. Dancing at the Moulin de la Galette
One of the best-known paintings of the Impressionist era, this 1876 work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) was shown at the Impressionist exhibition in 1877. Its exuberance captures the look and mood of Montmartre and is one of the artist’s masterpieces (Room 32).
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 (Room 72).
10. Café Campana
Offering a rest from all the impressive art, the museum’s café, renovated by the Campana Brothers, is delightfully situated behind one of the former station’s huge clocks. A break here is an experience in itself and the food is good, too.
