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You will have understood from my comments on Orsay, that this is my preferred museum for the quality of the exposed works but also for the architecture of the former station of Orsay. I like the complexity of the plan, the level differences, the big clock, the views.
But the museum is also a victim of its success (3 million visitors in 2006). To avoid crowds I arrive at the opening at 09.30h at the entrance for the museum pass holders; from there I walk directly by the central aisle of the ground floor to the bottom of the museum on the left side. Behind the wall is an escalator which rises directly to the level 5 so that I start my visit in an almost empty part (for some time at least - photo 1).
Another pleasure with this museum is the restaurant at the median level (restaurant from the former station hotel, photo 2).
Magnificent decor, correct food, efficient often kind service, normal prices for Paris. The painted décor of the ceiling and walls is of Benjamin Constant and Gabriel Ferrier. I advise you to arrive at the opening at 11.45 am. Tearoom in the after noon and dinner on Thursdays evening.
Open 9.30 - 18 h (on Thursday 21.45 h). Closed on Monday.
Tickets can be bought from 9 h on.
Price 8 €. Reduced 18 - 30 yr 5,50 €. Free less than 18 yr.
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Mon musée favori.
Vous aurez compris, si vous avez lu mes commentaires, que c'est mon musée préféré à Paris, pour la qualité des œuvres exposées mais aussi pour l'architecture de l'ancienne gare d'Orsay. J'aime la complexité du plan, les différences de niveau, la grande horloge, la salle des Fêtes ou le restaurant.
J'apprécie l'éclairage diffus et naturel venant du plafond au niveau 5 qui permet de bonnes photos.
Pour éviter les foules je monte directement par l'escalator au fond du musée au niveau 5 des impressionnistes. Je commence ainsi la visite par une partie presque vide (pendant quelque temps - photo 1).
L'autre plaisir est le restaurant au niveau médian aménagé dans l'ancien l'hôtel de la gare. Cadre splendide, nourriture correcte, service efficace souvent aimable, prix normaux pour Paris. Le décor peint est de Benjamin-Constant et Gabriel Ferrier.
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Before my first visit to the Musée d'Orsay I ignored who was Gustave Caillebotte.
Today I am grateful to this generous sponsor of impressionistic painters such as Degas, Monet and Renoir and collector of impressionist art who bequeathed to the French State 67 paintings of which 27 were refused by the National Museums who considered these paintings as "drift of an unhealthy art"!
In those times (1896) the public and administrations were less fond of impressionism than a century later.
But Caillebotte was also a talented painter who painted about 500 works in a style often more realistic than that of his impressionistic friends.
The painter Caillebotte became famous for his sights of the streets of Paris made since balconies, for scenes of the labour life such as the "Raboteurs de parquet - parquet planers" of room 30, for landscapes of gardens and parks.
He was a rich man, a naval architect what explains that he often painted nautical scenes as he participated to regattas.
Open 9.30 - 18 h (on Thursday 21.45 h). Closed on Monday.
Tickets can be bought from 9 h on.
Price 8 €. Reduced 18 - 30 yr 5,50 €. Free less than 18 yr.
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Mécène et peintre.
J'ignorais qui était Gustave Caillebotte avant ma première visite au Musée d'Orsay. Aujourd'hui j'ai de la reconnaissance pour ce mécène généreux envers les peintres impressionnistes et collectionneur qui légua à l'Etat Français 67 tableaux mais dont les Musées Nationaux refusèrent 27 tableaux considérés comme "dérives d'un art malsain". A l'époque (1896) on était moins friand d'impressionnisme qu'un siècle plus tard.
Mais Caillebotte était aussi un peintre talentueux qui peignit quelque 500 oeuvres dans un style souvent plus réaliste que celui de ses amis impressionnistes.
L'œuvre la plus célèbre est bien sur "les Raboteurs de parquet" de la salle 30.
Cette salle comporte d'autres belles œuvres de Caillebotte. Address: Upper floor - Niveau 5 - Room 30Directions: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay stationWebsite: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/
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Van Gogh is well represented by 20 works in room 35 at the upper level of Orsay.
I prefer these works to most of those I saw recently at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (ref. my Amsterdam tip). The quality of all the 20 works of room 35 is excellent with highlights such as "Les roulottes, campement de bohémiens aux environs d'Arles" (photo 1), "L'église d'Auvers-sur-Oise, vue du chevet" (photo 2), "Fritillaires couronne impériale dans un vase de cuivre" (photo 3) and the portrait of "Le docteur Paul Gachet" (photo 4).
But there is more for me: I discovered Van Gogh, when I was 7 years old, from reproductions of these works in a calendar. I presume that these paintings now at Orsay "impregnated" me when I was a kid and opened my liking for impressionism.
Open 9.30 - 18 h (on Thursday 21.45 h). Closed on Monday.
Tickets can be bought from 9 h on.
Price 8 €. Reduced 18 - 30 yr 5,50 €. Free less than 18 yr.
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Je préfère les Van Gogh de la salle 35 à Orsay à l'ensemble de ceux que j'ai vu récemment au Musée Van Gogh d'Amsterdam (réf. ma page Amsterdam).
Pourquoi?
La qualité de cette vingtaine de Van Gogh est excellente comme "l' Eglise d'Auvers", "Les roulottes", "Fritillaires dans un vase de cuivre" ou encore le portrait de Paul Gachet mais il y a surtout le fait que j'ai découvert Van Gogh, quand j'avais 7 ans, par les reproductions de ces tableaux ci dans un calendrier.
Je suppose que ce sont ces œuvres actuellement au Musée d'Orsay qui m'ont "imprégné" et m'ont donné le goût pour les impressionnistes en général. Address: Upper level - Niveau supérieur 5, Room 35Directions: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay stationWebsite: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/
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The museum has put together in one frame 3 landscape paintings of different impressionist painters: Sisley, Pissarro and Monet (from left to right) forming a kind of triptych.
The style of these 3 impressionist painters is very close in these landscapes; the visitor might hesitate about who belongs to whom. In other works Monet marks his difference with Pissaro or Sisley.
In this large room 32 from the upper level are many other paintings all of excellent quality from Monet, Pissaro, Sisley and Renoir. I dare say it is the best room of the upper level.
Among my favoured paintings in this room 32 there are the "Régates à Argentueil" from Monet, from Pissarro "la Bergère" and from Sisley the famous "Inondations à Port-Marly". There is also that highlight of Renoir "Le Bal au Moulin de la Galette" with the wonderful play of sunny spots and shade.
Open 9.30 - 18 h (on Thursday 21.45 h). Closed on Monday.
Tickets can be bought from 9 h on.
Price 8 €. Reduced 18 - 30 yr 5,50 €. Free less than 18 yr.
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Triptyque impressionniste.
Avoir réuni en un seul cadre 3 tableaux de différents peintres impressionnistes comme Sisley "L'île Saint-Denis", Pissarro "Entrée de village de Voisins" et Monet "Bateaux de plaisance" (de gauche à droite) est une idée originale. On a là un véritable triptyque de paysages de l'école impressionniste.
On remarquera que les styles et la facture de ces trois tableaux de peintres différents sont très proches à tel point qu'on peut hésiter à définir qui appartient à qui.
Il est évident que ces trois oeuvres ont été groupées à cause de leur ressemblance et qu'un Monet, par exemple, s'écartera fortement de ce style dans bien d'autres œuvres. Personnellement en matière de paysages mon préféré est Sisley.
Cette grande salle 32 comporte bien d'autres belles œuvres de Monet, Pissarro et Sisley ainsi que le merveilleux "Bal au Moulin de la Galette" avec les jeux d'ombre et de lumière qui font de ce tableau l'un des plus appréciés de Renoir. Address: Upper level - Niveau sipérieur 5, Room-Salle 32Directions: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay stationWebsite: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/
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The museum of Orsay shows some paintings of nudes which in their time (around 1860) where found scandalous.
The art amateur will notice that this decennia of 1860 produced academic nudes such as "Naissance de Vénus" (1863) of Alexandre Cabanel, impressionist nudes like "Déjeuner sur l'herbe" (1863) and "Olympia" (1863) from Edouard Manet as well as realistic nudes such as "Femme nue avec chien" (1862) and "l'Origine du Monde" (1866) from Gustave Courbet.
As for "l'Origine du Monde" of Courbet, acquired in 1995, I notice that today this provocating nudity, an almost anatomical description of the female organs, still arouses emotion. The first years that she was exhibited at Orsay a special security guard was posted in the room!
Now that the Courbet's nude "L'Origine du Monde" is travelling all over the world there is no reason for me not to publish the photo in this review.
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Les nus à scandale d'Orsay!
Le musée d'Orsay comporte quelques tableaux de nus qui ont défrayé la chronique en leur temps (±1860) et dont l'un "l'Origine du Monde" (1866) de Gustave Courbet suscite encore des remous.
Cette même décennie 1860 produisit à la fois des nus aussi académiques que la "Naissance de Vénus" (1863) du néo-classique Alexandre Cabanel, des nus d'inspiration impressionniste comme "Déjeuner sur l'herbe" (1863) et "Olympia" (1863) d' Edouard Manet ainsi que des nus réalistes comme la "Femme nue avec chien" (1862) et "l'Origine du Monde" (1866) de Gustave Courbet.
Les deux nus de Manet, surtout le "Déjeuner sur l'herbe", déchaînèrent les sarcasmes et critiques au Salon de 1863. J'avoue que le contraste entre les deux messieurs en redingote et la dame nue m'interpellent. Qu'allait-elle faire nue dans la forêt; à moins qu'elle ne se soit baignée dans l'étang à l'arrière plan?
Quant à "l'Origine du Monde" de Courbet, acquis en 1995 je constate qu'aujourd'hui encore cette nudité crue, provocante, une description presque anatomique du sexe féminin, suscite de l'émotion: les messieurs la photographient, leur compagne se tient en retrait.
Open 9.30 - 18 h (on Thursday 21.45 h). Closed on Monday.
Tickets can be bought from 9 h on.
Price 8 €. Reduced 18 - 30 yr 5,50 €. Free less than 18 yr. Address: Level 0 - ground floor, rooms 3, 14 & 15Directions: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay stationWebsite: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/
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At the back end of the ground floor of the Musée d'Orsay there is an interesting exhibit on the building of the "new" (meaning new in the 19th century) opera house which was ordered by the Emperor Napoleon III and designed by the young architect Charles Garnier (1825-1898).
This model shows a cross-section of the opera building, with its entrance hall, grand staircase, auditorium with crown and the stage and backstage areas. Today this opera house is known as the Opéra Garnier or Palais Garnier, after its architect. It is one of five opera houses currently operating in Paris, the others being the Opéra Bastille, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Opéra Comique (Salle Favart), and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
Second photo: L'escalier de l'Opéra, a painting of the Grand Staircase of the then-new opera house, painted around 1980 by Victor Navlet (1819-1886). The French State bought this painting directly from the artist in 1881 and displayed it for six years in the French Embassy in Berlin.
Third photo: This is the definitive sketch for the ceiling of the opera house, by the painter Jules-Eugène Lenepveu (1819-1898), who proceeded to paint exactly this on the round ceiling of the auditorium. Lenepveu's ceiling paintings are still there, but they are no longer visible because they have been covered since 1964 by the new ceiling paintings of Marc Chagall (1887-1985).
Fourth photo: Portrait of the architect Charles Garnier, painted in 1868 by Paul Baudry (1828-1886).
Fifth photo: Under a glass floor there is a model of the opera house and the entire district around it, as it was in the early years of the 20th century. Leave a Comment
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About 270 VT members made comments here on the magnificent collections of the museum of Orsay and the ancient railway station which shelters them. I will just visit one painting of Claude Monet which on each of my visits made my hart bounce and my eyes shine with pleasure.
It is a rather large painting called "La pie" (the magpie) of a winter landscape painted in 1869 at the beginning of his career and which for that reason is exposed on the first floor among the pre-impressionists.
At first this painting attracts the glance of the visitor by its almost white monochromy. But quickly we realize that the snow is not white - white does not exist - she shows nuances of grey, blue, yellow with some lines and dark spots in brown or black.
There are the warm tones in the sunny part of the landscape and the cold tones in the shadow.
On the barrier, there is the magpie …
A so fascinating beauty deserves the journey to the Musée d'Orsay.
Monet was an excellent painter of snow scenes and painted some 18 in the area of Argenteuil.
Open 9.30 - 18 h (on Thursday 21.45 h). Closed on Monday.
Tickets can be bought from 9 h on.
Price 8 €. Reduced 18 - 30 yr 5,50 €. Free less than 18 yr
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Près de 270 VT membres se sont exprimés ici sur les magnifiques collections du musée d'Orsay. Je me contenterai de visiter un tableau de Claude Monet qui est pour moi un "coup de cœur". Il s'agit de "La pie" un assez grand tableau d'un paysage enneigé peint en 1869 soit au début de sa carrière et qui pour cette raison est exposée au rez-de-chaussée parmi les pré-impressionistes.
Ce tableau attire le regard du visiteur par sa quasi monochromie blanche. Mais rapidement on réalise que la neige n'est pas blanche - le blanc n'existe pas - elle présente des nuances de gris, de bleu, de jaune avec quelques lignes et taches sombres en brun ou noir. Il y a les tons chauds dans la partie ensoleillée du paysage et les tons froids dans l'ombre.
Sur la barrière, il y a la pie…
Une beauté aussi captivante mérite plus que le détour, elle mérite le voyage.
Monet, qui excellait dans les scènes avec neige, en a peint 18 dans la région d'Argenteuil. Address: Ground floor - rez-de-chaussée (section 18)Directions: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay stationWebsite: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/
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The museum of Orsay contains a beautiful collection of Auguste Renoir's works among which the two large paintings with dancers impressed me from my first visit here.
"Dance in the country" and "Dance in the city" (1883) belong to the second period called "Ingresque" or "dry" of Renoir. The drawing is more net, the outline more precise than with his first "impressionistic" period (1864-1883).
Renoir wrote "I had gone up to the end of the impressionism and I arrived to the observation that I did not know how to paint or draw." Amazing this questioning by a master of the impressionistic art!
He painted three couples of dancers among whom two are here on display in the museum of Orsay, room 39, the third is in Boston.
I was particularly seduced by these couples of dancers. The man leaning forwards murmurs soft things to the ear of his partner; she, beautiful woman, red-haired, follows with elegance the movement of the music (a waltz?).
We know that she is Suzanne Valadon who was also a model for Puvis de Chavannes and Toulouse-Lautrec and became herself a painter and mother of the painter Utrillo.
After his short "ingresque" period from 1883 till 1890, Renoir enters his period "nacrée - pearly" The term represents very well the shape, the colour, the light and the sensual delight of this period during which he paints numerous "baigneuses - the bathers".
In the same room 39 are two other beautiful paintings of his pearly period - "période nacrée"
"Jeunes filles au piano" (1892) and "Grand nu" (1907).
Renoir was a very prolific painter: more than 4000 paintings!
NOTE : In July 2008 "Dance in the Country" was not at Orsay but travelling around the world.
Open 9.30 - 18 h (on Thursday 21.45 h). Closed on Monday.
Tickets can be bought from 9 h on.
Price 8 €. Reduced 18 - 30 yr 5,50 €. Free less than 18 yr. Address: Musée d'Orsay, upper floor, room 39Directions: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay stationWebsite: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/
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Le musée d'Orsay comporte une belle collection d'œuvres de d'Auguste Renoir dont deux grands tableaux de danseurs m'ont impressionné dès ma première visite.
Il s'agit de "Danse à la campagne" et "Danse à la ville" (1883) appartenant à la deuxième période appelée "Ingresque" ou "sèche" parce que le dessin se fait plus net, le contour plus précis que dans sa première période "impressionniste" (1864-1883). En cette année Renoir écrit "J'étais allé jusqu'au bout de l'impressionnisme et j'arrivais à cette constatation que je ne savais ni peindre ni dessiner." Etonnant cette remise en cause de ce maître de l'art impressionniste.
Il en résulta trois tableaux de couples de danseurs dont deux ici au musée d'Orsay, salle 39, le troisième à Boston.
J'ai été particulièrement séduit par ces couples danseurs. L'homme penché en avant murmure des choses tendres à l'oreille de sa compagne; elle, belle femme aux cheveux d'un roux naturel, se tient bien droite. L'on sait qu'il s'agit de Suzanne Valadon qui fut également modèle de Puvis de Chavannes, de Toulouse-Lautrec et devint elle-même peintre et mère du peintre Utrillo.
Après sa courte période "ingresque" de 1883 à 1890, Renoir entre dans sa période "nacrée"
Le terme désigne bien la forme, couleur, lumière et volupté de cette période pendant laquelle il peint de nombreuses "baigneuses".
Dans la même salle 39 se trouvent deux très beaux tableaux de sa période nacrée: "Jeunes filles au piano" (1892) et "Grand nu" (1907).
Renoir fut un peintre très prolifique: plus de 4000 tableaux! Address: Musée d'Orsay, niveau supérieur 5, salle 39Directions: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay stationWebsite: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/
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The Musee d'Orsay is a transformed train station and the architecture is nearly as fascinating as the art collection inside. The former Gare d'Orsay, closed to trains in 1973, was inaugurated as a museum in 1986 by then-President Mitterrand.
This is where the Impressionists are exhibited, where you find Van Gogh, Pisarro, Manet, Monet, sculpture by Rodin, Renoir, Cezanne, Seurat, Millet and the list goes on.
Many people expect these paintings to be in the Louvre and are disappointed when they don't see them. If you are looking for them, be sure to visit the d'Orsay and enjoy. Be sure to climb to the top floor and view the inside of the museum. Also view Sacre Coeur from behind the very large window clock facing the basilique on a hill. It's a magnificent view of Paris.
It can get very crowded inside the museum so we like to go a bit later in the day and start at the top floor and work our way down. One of my husband's favorites is "The Angelus" by Millet and we always visit that before we leave. Leave a Comment Address: Quai Anatole FranceDirections: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay stationWebsite: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/
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