The French capital is able to conquer anyone with its sights. A rich cultural life distinguishes this city from many others. Museums play an important role in this. The famous Louvre does not scare away tourists even with long lines. The Musee d'Orsay is no less popular. What did he become famous for when he was opened and what is definitely worth seeing in it?
Where is the museum?
If you walk along the boulevard Saint-Germain, then soon you will reach the turn to the river, you will be able to cross to the other side of the Pont de la Concorde and find yourself on the Quai Voltaire. It is interesting not only for the view of the Tuileries Garden, but also for the fact that it is here that the legendary Musée d'Orsay is located, which is one of the most visited attractions in Paris. You can enter the building from Rue Legion d'Honnerre. If you plan to travel by metro, you will need to get off at the station called "Solferino".
A trip to history
This amazingly beautiful building did not always house the Musée d'Orsay. Paris hosted the 1900 World's Fair, and a railway station was built for it on this site. It served the southwestern part of the country until 1939. The route Paris - Orleans was in demand, the trains becameeverything is longer, and it soon turned out that they simply do not fit on the platform. I had to change the profile of this station. He began to serve only small suburban trains, and part of the building was set aside for the postal center. After World War II, the station was used by the Renaud-Baro theater troupe. Auctions were held in the halls and the hotel was restored, which will be closed only in 1973. Only in 1977 it was decided to place the Musée d'Orsay here. A large-scale reconstruction began, which took almost ten years. By December 1, 1986, one of the most famous museums in the world was opened. The ceremony was solemnly held by French President Mitterrand. Since then, the Musee d'Orsay has not stopped its work.
Display on the first floor
The Musée d'Orsay is divided into three levels, each representing a different cultural movement. On the first one, which is located under a surprisingly beautiful glass roof, two rows of sculptures are exhibited. Their placement recalls the past of the premises, creating the outlines of railway tracks. Paintings are placed on the sides in additional rooms. The entire floor is associated with works created before 1870. The best example of sculpture is the work of Carpo. It depicts Ugolino, the monstrous count from Dante's poem, gnawing his fingers in anticipation of the possibility of eating the bodies of his own children. Another work of the sculptor is the plaster group “Four parts of the world supporting the celestial sphere”. The original, embodied in bronze, can be seen in the Luxembourg Gardens. There, the Musée d'Orsay offers visitorspolychrome busts of Africans, created by the sculptor Cordier from stone.
Exposition of side wings
On the south side of the floor are paintings by Delacroix and Ingres. Their main collection is housed in the Louvre. Along with them, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris houses artists who exhibited in the salons of the mid-nineteenth century. The following rooms contain paintings by Puvis de Chavant, the young Degas and Gustave Moreau. Representatives of the Barbizon school with realist artists are housed in the north wing. In these rooms you can see the work of Corot, Daumier, Millet and Courbet. Among the first, they abandoned outdated norms and stopped depicting idealized plots. Daubigny's painting "Snow" greatly influenced the future course of Impressionism, and Courbet's work en titled "The Beginning of the World" shocks visitors with frankness. In the same part of the museum you can find paintings by Manet, for example, the provocative painting "Olympia", created by the master in 1863.
Impressionist Collections
To view the exhibition in chronological order, you need to go to the top floor. It houses the collection of which the Musee d'Orsay is most proud of - the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists with their best work. In the chamber halls, located under the roof, there is a collection created by the art historian Moro-Nelaton. An outstanding collector owned the best works of Claude Monet, such as "Poppies" or "Breakfast on the Grass", which once infuriated critics. In adjacent roomsthe impressionist exposition continues - Degas, Renoir, Sisley, Pizarro are represented there. Stunning everyday scenes and landscapes reflect the first years of a new era, in which it was customary for artists to place their easel right on the street and look for inspiration there. Here you can see the legendary work of Degas - his dancers stand out from other paintings of this direction by their attention not to colors, but to lines and movements. Berthe Morisot's "Cradle" is also presented - the first female work in the style of impressionism.
Best Works
The most important masterpieces held by the Musee d'Orsay in Paris are exhibited in rooms 34, 39 and 35. These are Monet's first five paintings depicting the Cathedral of Rouen and late works by Renoir. Room 35 fills with a riot of colors - Van Gogh is exhibited there. The Musee d'Orsay also owns Cezanne's paintings, for example, the famous still life "Apples and Oranges". There are also cafes and small rooms with Degas pastels on the upper level. The last row of rooms under the roof is given to psychological, sharp subjects - Gauguin, Rousseau, pointillists Seurat and Signac. The best work of this part of the exhibition is the canvas with a portrait of Oscar Wilde, by Toulouse-Lautrec.
Intermediate exposure
Museum d'Orsay, whose opening hours allow everyone to have time to see the exposition - on Thursdays it is open even at nine in the evening, and the only day off is Monday - worth a visit, walking through all the levels. The post-impressionist Kaganovich is represented on the middle one, and on the Lille terraceyou can see the canvases of Bonnard and Vuillard. They are hidden from the public eye by a giant sculpture of a polar bear created by Pompon. Vuillard and Bonnard are well-known members of the Art Nouveau group, which became famous under the name "Nabis". In their canvases, not only the influence of the early twentieth century can be traced, but also traces of impressionist movements, and some details of traditional Japanese painting. The collection in this part of the museum ends with the works of the symbolists - Klimt, Munch.
Sculpture terraces
Address "Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France" attracts not only connoisseurs of painting. Sculpture lovers come here too. The exposure is not limited to the first level. The middle shows numerous works by Rodin. His version of "Ugolino" is even darker than the same Carpo sculpture from the ground floor. There is another of his works with a tragic story - "Fleeting Love", which became a symbol of the end of his relationship with Camille Claudel, a student and mistress. If you still have strength after all these walks, be sure to visit the last rooms, where furniture and examples of applied art from the Art Nouveau era are exhibited. Despite their lesser significance, these are very interesting artifacts that allow you to get an idea of the life of past years. If you have visited the museum, but did not have time to see everything, if possible, repeat your visit on the first Sunday of the month - so you do not have to pay for the ticket again.
Cost of visit
The exact price of tickets to the museum may vary, but the standard price is nine euros. From visitors under eighteenyears, the fee is not charged according to tradition. Discounted tickets available on Sundays and daily after 4pm. But do not think that you will be able to quickly see the exposition if you arrive late - the box office closes an hour before the museum closes. To save money, you can buy a special Paris ticket for tourists - it is universal and is suitable for sixty different establishments and attractions. You can skip the line and not worry about additional expenses by paying just once.
