Your Guide to the Musée d'Orsay
The Musée d'Orsay was originally not a museum at all. According to the museum website, it was once the Palais d'Orsay, built in the early 19th century. It served as a government building, but during the Paris Commune in 1871 the neighborhood was engulfed in flames and the ruins of the building represented the violence of the civil war. At the turn of the century, a railroad company commissioned Victor Laloux, the architect who had just finished the Hôtel de Ville, to transform the ruined Palais into the Gare d'Orsay, a train station that served most of southwestern Paris. The station served as a mailing center for prisoners of war during World War 2 and after liberation, a place to reunite with loved ones. Towards the end of the 20th century, the Gare d'Orsay was closed and the museum was born.
The stories and lives of past Parisians and foreigners alike fills the air of the d'Orsay. It is a favorite museum in Paris because of its accessibility and diversity, even though it only displays works from the western world created between 1841 and 1914. Any museum can be overwhelming for visitors so I have created a comprehensible and exciting list of just ten pieces that you might find to be powerful, touching, or simply beautiful.
As a disclaimer, I realize that the majority of the following works are either of the female figure or use primarily bright colors, and so it is not a diverse representation of all the museum has to offer, however these are the pieces that stood out to me the most.
We start at Floor 0...
1. Pénélope, Pierre-Jules Cavelier, 1849
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: Allée centrale, Floor 0
Check out: her feet, her hands; the way the marble was worked into the creation of her extremities is marvelous. Also, her sensuality and nonchalance. Très chic.
2. La Jeune Fille et la Mort, Marianne Stokes, 1908
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: Salle 8, Floor 0
Check out: the symbolism of the piece. The flowers and pearls, representing innocence and youth and life, and the falling, dying petals. The way that Death rests its feet on the dead animal fur. The black feathered wing creepily beckoning the young girl closer to Death itself.
3. Calanque (six heures du soir), Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer, 1930-1936
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: Salle 8, Floor 0
Check out: the colors. They are bright and buttery and remind me of spring and dreams of quaint, Mediterranean coastal towns. Also, if you're as nostalgic for the ocean as I am, take a look around at the surrounding paintings of the sea and water.
4. Nu accroupi au tub & Chien sur la terrasse, Pierre Bonnard, 1918/1917
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: Salle 9, Floor 0
Check out: again, the palette, but also, the brushstrokes. Choose a section, look at it up close, and then take a step back, and look at the same spot. At first, you see a collection of brightly colored and separate strokes, and then, a smooth, syncopated scene. The physical way in which he painted is incredible. We are looking at a lady taking a bath, and a dog sitting outdoors, and yet he makes these mundane situations into something resplendent and venerable.
5. Au Nouveau Cirque, Papa Chrysanthème, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1894
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: Salle 10, Floor 0
Check out: the way our attention is directed to this lighted piece of stained glass. Think: What figures do you see initially? How does this colorful rectangle make you feel? And lastly, keep in mind that Lautrec apparently had a reserved room at a brothel on the Rue des Moulins.
6. L'Origine du Monde, Gustave Courbet, 1866
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: Salle 20, Floor 0
Check out: I know, it's graphic, intense, raw, maybe uncomfortable for some. According to the museum website, this painting was owned by a wide spectrum of characters, from a Turkish-Egyptian diplomat to a psychoanalyst, and others unknown. It is borderline pornographic, and yet the simple color scheme which Courbet employs and the title he gives the piece, The Origin of the World, reveres the Woman and Her power.
Now, to Floor 2...
ATTENTION: Avoid Salles 70, 71, and 72. Gaugin and Van Gogh attract so many people, namely confused tourists looking at La Nuit Étoilée through various camera lenses. If the museum is uncharacteristically quiet, sneak in to visit these paintings, as they are visited by the masses for a reason. But on busier days, walk instead towards Salle 69, to see my favorite room in the d'Orsay.
7. Une rue de Paris en mai 1871, Maximilien Luce, 1903-1906
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: Salle 69, Floor 2
Check out: the juxtaposition of the horrific scene and the cheery color palette. If you read the introduction to the history of the d'Orsay at the beginning of this article, you might notice that this painting depicts the Paris Commune that also witnessed the burning of the Palais d'Orsay in 1871. As noted in the small description at the entryway, the movement explored in this room is Neo-Impressionism, namely Pointillism. Paul Signac and Georges Seurat were the founders of this trend, and their work is displayed along the surrounding walls. The focus is to work with the actual chemistry of the colors so that they appear to buzz before the viewer, and also display a general sense of positivity. Take a moment to wander around this room, and look specifically for Seurat's small five lighted pieces, and Signac's painting of the Rochelle Port.
8. Après le repas, Édouard Vuillard, 1893
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: Salle 67, Floor 2
Check out: this funky, orange painting, but also the other works and the description at the entrance. Les Nabis, as they called themselves, were a group of artists who followed Gaugin, and focused on either religious scenes or family scenes. I recommend exploring this movement because it is random and unexpected, and serves as a reminder that distinct characters can group together to create distinct pieces focused on distinct subjects that one could have never imagined.
9. Dans Le Ventre de Paris
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: The staircase at the opposite end of the museum entrance, enter at Floor 2
Check out: This is not exactly a single piece, but a staircase that, on each level, displays the architecture of new Paris throughout the 19th century. As you walk from Floor 2 to Floor 5, I recommend to take the stairs and get more out of it than just a workout.
Finally, to Floor 5, where the d'Orsay guards its treasure, an incredible collection of Impressionist pieces, spanning from the 19th to 20th centuries.
10. Les Dindons, Claude Monet, 1877
Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler
Where: Salles 29-37, Floor 5
Check out: the way that Monet makes a masterpiece out of turkeys. Oh, and also, everything else. For all the cool kids, here is a game I like to play in the Impressionist section: Try to differentiate between the strokes and styles of the different artists and then guess the artist before looking at the description next to the piece. Fun stuff!
At the end of your visit check to see if the doors at the back of the restaurant are open and step outside onto the terrace to see a panorama of our city. Explore the museum yourself, find your own favorites. I focused mainly on Floors 0, 2, and 5, but if you are interested in Art Noveau and chairs upon chairs upon chairs, visit Floors 3 and 4.
The Musée d'Orsay is open from 9h30 to 18h00 every day except Mondays, and is open until 21h45 on Thursdays. The museum is also free for students. Bring your student ID, walk through security, skip the ticket line and go directly to the museum doors. Show your ID to one of the employees scanning tickets, and voilà!
Now, go! Discover!
