This magnificent museum, located in the old Orsay
railway station built in 1900, is dedicated to all forms
of artistic expression: painting, sculpture and also photography
of the 1848-1914 period. The era of the impressionist painters
is particularly well represented with the masterpieces of
Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas... Admire the delicate brush
strokes of Renoir, the serious self-portrait of Van Gogh,
the radiance of a Monet's landscape amongst other artistic
marvels.
Built by architect Victor Laloux in 1900, the "Gare
d'Orsay" was one of the Paris stations with trains
to the south-west of France (Orléans and Bordeaux).
Located across the Louvre on the Seine river left bank,
it has been spectacularly renovated from 1977 to 1986 to
house the Orsay museum.
BuiltThe Orsay museum (Musée d'Orsay in french) is
the 19th century French arts museum. It is known worldwide
for its famous impressionists collections and is a must
to arts lovers.
Built in the 1870's, the "Impressionism" was a French
"Avant-garde" painters group rejected by the official
academy. The impressionists (among them Auguste Renoir,
Claude Monet, Edgar Manet, Théo Van Gogh and Paul
Cézanne) painted ordinary life and people on the
spot and in the open air.
BuiltThey rejected historical and mythological subjects.
They used light colors. Above all, they are famous for having
departed from the tradition of painting "reality".
They instead used color spots and strokes to suggest their
"impression" of the reality that only reveals
itself from the distance.
Adress
1 rue de Bellechasse 75007 Paris
How to get there
Metro : Solferino, Rue du Bac
RER C : Musée d'Orsay
Bus : 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94