The French capital is able to conquer anyone with its sights. The rich cultural life distinguishes this city from many others. Museums play an important role in this. The famous Louvre does not deter tourists even in long bursts. The Orsay Museum is no less popular. What was it famous for when it was opened and what is worth seeing in it?
Where is the museum?
If you walk along the boulevard Saint-Germain, then soon you will reach a turn to the river, you will be able to cross the other side along the Concorde bridge and find yourself on Voltaire embankment. It is interesting not only for its views of the Tuileries Gardens, but also for the fact that the legendary Orsay Museum is located here, which is one of the most visited attractions in Paris. You can enter the building from the street Legion d'Onner. If you plan to travel by metro, you will need to get off at the station called “Solferino”.
History tour
This amazingly beautiful building did not always house the d'Orsay Museum. Paris hosted the 1900 World's Fair, and a railway station was built on this site for it. He served the southwestern part of the country until 1939. The Paris - Orleans route was in demand, the trains became longer and longer, and it soon turned out that they simply did 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 reserved for the postal center. After World War II, the theater was used by the Renault 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 d'Orsay Museum here. A large-scale reconstruction began, which took almost ten years. By the first of December 1986, one of the most famous museums in the world was opened. The ceremony was solemnly held by the President of France Mitterrand. Since then, the Orsay Museum has not stopped its work.
Ground floor exposure
The Orsay Museum is divided into three levels, each of which represents a different cultural direction. On the first, which is located under a surprisingly beautiful glass roof, two rows of sculptures are exhibited. Their placement reminds of the past of the room, creating the outlines of the railway tracks. On the sides in additional rooms are paintings. The entire floor is associated with works created before 1870. The best example of sculpture is the work of Carpo. She portrays Ugolino, a monstrous count from Dante's poem, gnawing at her fingers in anticipation of the possibility of eating the bodies of her 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 Museum d'Orsay offers visitors the polychrome busts of Africans created by the sculptor Cordier from stone.
Side wing exposure
On the south side of the floor are paintings by painters Delacroix and Ingres. Their main collection is located in the Louvre. Together with them, the Orsay Museum in Paris houses artists who exhibited in the salons of the mid-nineteenth century. In the following rooms are paintings by Puvis de Chavan, young Degas and Gustave Moreau. Representatives of the Barbizon School with realist artists are located in the north wing. In these rooms you can see the work of Corot, Daumier, Millet and Courbet. Among the first, they abandoned obsolete norms and stopped portraying idealized stories. Daubigny's painting “Snow” had a great influence on the future course of impressionism, and Courbet's work entitled “Beginning of the World” shocked visitors with frankness. In the same part of the museum you can find Manet's paintings, for example, the provocative canvas "Olympia", created by the master in 1863.
Impressionist Collections
To inspect the exposition in chronological order, you need to go to the top floor. There is a collection that the Orsay Museum is most proud of - the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists with their best works. In the chamber rooms located under the roof there is a collection created by art historian Moro Nelaton. The outstanding collector owned the best works of Claude Monet, for example, “Poppies” or “Breakfast on the Grass”, which once led the critics into a rage. In the neighboring halls the impressionist exposition continues - there are represented Degas, Renoir, Sisley, Pizarro. Stunning everyday scenes and landscapes reflect the first years of a new era, in which artists decided to place their easel right on the street and seek inspiration there. Here you can see the legendary work of Degas - his dancers stand out from other paintings in this direction with attention not to colors, but to lines and movements. The “Cradle” of Berthe Morisot is also presented - the first female work in the style of impressionism.
Best works
The most important masterpieces owned by the Orsay Museum in Paris are exhibited in halls 34, 39 and 35. These are the first five paintings of Monet, which depicts the Cathedral of Rouen, and later works by Renoir. Hall 35 fills with a riot of colors - Van Gogh is on display there . The Orsay Museum also owns Cezanne paintings, for example, the famous still life “Apples and Oranges”. On the upper level there are also cafes and small halls with Degas pastels. The last row of rooms under the roof was given to psychological, sensitive subjects - Gauguin, Russo, pointillists Sera and Signac. The best work of this part of the exhibition is a canvas with a portrait of Oscar Wilde, owned by Toulouse-Lautrec.
Mid-level exposure
The Orsay Museum, whose opening hours allow everyone to see the exposition - on Thursdays it is open even at nine in the evening, and the only day off is Monday - is worth visiting, walking along all levels. On average, the post-impressionist Kaganovich is represented, and on the Lille terrace you can see the paintings of Bonnard and Vuillard. A giant polar bear sculpture created by Pompon hides them from the eyes of the public. Vuillard and Bonnard are well-known members of the Art Nouveau group, which became famous under the name “Nabi”. Their paintings show not only the influence of the beginning of the twentieth century, but also traces of impressionist movements, and some details of traditional Japanese painting. The collection in this part of the museum ends with the work of the symbolists - Klimt, Munch.
Sculpture terraces
The address "Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France" attracts not only art lovers. Fans of sculpture come here. Exposure is not limited to the first level. On average, numerous works of Rodin are presented. His version of Ugolino is even darker than the same Carpo sculpture from the first floor. There is another of his work with a tragic story - “Fleeting Love”, which became a symbol of the end of his relationship with Camille Claudel, a student and mistress. If after all these walks there remains strength, be sure to visit the last halls, where furniture and samples 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 visited the museum, but didn’t manage to inspect everything, if possible, repeat the visit on the first Sunday of the month - so you won’t have to pay for the ticket again.
Cost of visiting
The exact price of tickets to the museum may vary, but by default it is nine euros. Visitors under the age of eighteen are not charged according to tradition. On Sundays and daily after four in the evening, discounts on tickets are available. But do not think that you will be able to quickly see the exhibition, if you come late - the ticket office closes an hour before the museum closes. To save money, you can buy a special Parisian ticket for tourists - it is universal and suitable for sixty diverse establishments and attractions. You can go without a queue and not think about additional expenses, paying only once.