The Musée d’Orsay is located on the left bank of the river Seine, in the 7th arrondissement (= district) of Paris.
Orsay houses the world’s largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art works in the worldfrom the period 1848-1904 in the world
Orsay museum displays fine impressionist and post-impressionist collections and let a lot of space to the earlier Realists
The impressionist artists: Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne, Camille Pissaro, Frederic Bazille, Gustave Caillebotte, Mary Cassatt, Alfred Sisley, Berthe Morisot…
The post-impressionist artists :
Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Georges Seurat, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Gauguin, Paul Signac…
Orsaylet a lot of space to the earlier Realists. also offers temporary exhibitions
“Impression soleil levant”by Claude Monet (at Marmottan Monet museum, Paris 16). The painting that initiated the impressionist movement
It picks up where Le Louvre ends : paintings, sculptures, furniture and photography.
Orsay, a former train station
Orsay train station, built in 1900
The museum building was originally a 19th railway station called “Orléans station” after the name of the city of Orléans.
The trains were going from Paris to the city of Orléans.
It was built between 1898 and 1900.
The railway station closed in 1939
The Italian architect Gaetana Aulenti (1927 – 2012), reinvented the Orleans train station, She was a defiant figure in a field dominated by men.
She was one of the 2 women to graduate in the class of 1954, of the Milan Polytechnic School of Architecture.
“…She’ll be remembered for the audacity of her vision.” (The New York Times)—
Below : Orsay when it was a train station
One minute video to know more about Orsay amazing story !
It reopened as the Musée d’Orsay in 1986
But what impressionism means and refers to ?.
Impressionisme started in Paris in the 1860s : the artists started to break with the academic values of the past.
The Impressionist movement has no real founder though Manet and Courbet inspired many of the younger artists.
However, one says that the name “Impressionism” comes from a painting by Claude Monet : “Impression” (= “Sunrise »), a view from Le Havre in the mist from 1872. (photo of this painting at the top of this article)
The impressionist artists aimed to capture the impression of what the eye sees at a given moment.
Their favourite subjects were : landscapes, and scenes from the urban life.
It took later generations to fully appreciate the work of the Impressionists.
In 1863, Manet’s “Le déjeuner sur l’herbe” was rejected by the officiel salon of that year. Cezanne was rejected all his life.
Degas sold only one painting to a museum and Sisley died unknown.
Only Renoir and Monet were ever acclaimed in their lifetimes.
Enjoy a short visit inside Orsay !
https://youtu.be/5h5_LqKO720?si=4s2_apSpkwtJZdk_
ORSAY : organisation
- Ground floor : all paintings prior to 1870 : Degas before 1870, first Monet’s paintings, Toulouse, Lautrec, Cezanne, Manet, Courbet…
- The museum central aisle : an assorted selection of sculptures of the middle of the 19th century.. and a copy of the Statue of Liberty.
- Level 2 : Gauguin and Van Gogh (number 70,71,72 rooms) …
- Level 5 : the collection of impressionist art (Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Pissaro, Sisley…)—————————————
My thoughts and suggestions :
My advice :
- A real must-see on your visit to Paris especially if you are an impressionist art lover. A gem. The architecture is beautiful and the building itself is worth it. This museum might become your favorite in Paris !! Don’t miss it.
- Choose to visit it at opening time. (for a more peaceful visit). The crowd and the queues can be quite important. Better not choose a weekend day.
- Highly recommended: buy your tickets on line. With no reservation ticket, you might wait more than one hour.
- Prepare your visit before you come : on the map of the museum, choose the artists and paintings you want to see first.A minimum of 2 hours for your visit is recommended. Half a day is best. But you could easily spend an entire day in Orsay
- My advice would be to start your visit at the 5th floor. This is where the most famous works are located
- Don’t miss the several giants clocks which are wonderful and very impressive (at the ground floor – a golden huge clock and at the level 5 – 2 glass clocks)
- Also a great view over central Paris and Le Louvre from level 5 : from the terrace and through the large glass clock !
- Other paintings by Monet are on display in Paris or nearby Paris : at Musée Marmottan Monet (in Paris), Orangerie Museum (in Paris) and Giverny (located 75 km west from Paris)
Good to know :
- Orsay website
- Taking photos is allowed inside the museum (but with no flash) – A great news for all the photographers
- Ticket purchase : buy your tickets in advance 16€
- Audioguides available 6 €
- Free admission on the 1st Sunday of each month
- Opening time : Tuesday to Sunday 9:30am – 6pm. Closed on Mondays. Last access to the museum at 5pm, last access to the exhibitions at 5:15pm, closing of the rooms from 5:30pm
Restaurants :
- Café Campana (Level 5) : the most frequented
- A café “Café de L’ours” : for a light lunch (ground floor)
- “Le Restaurant” (level 1) (beautiful setting, but a restaurant often missed as not really on the beaten path). It’s the former restaurant (opened in 1900) of the Hôtel d’Orsay (which was part of the old train station. Listed as a Historic Monument.
- Address : 1 rue de la Légion d’honneur. +33 (0) 1 40 49 48 14
- Metro stop : Solférino – RER C : Musée d’Orsay – Buses : 24, 68, 69, 84 – Batobus stop : « Musée d’Orsay »
