The Musée d’Orsay will always be one of my absolute favourite museums along with the National Gallery in London. The former station now houses the world’s largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, bridging the gap between the ancient works of the Louvre and the modern art in the Georges Pompidou Centre.
I spent three hours gazing at the dazzling collection of art on my last visit to Paris in May and had kept notes so became Mary’s walking audioguide of the museum. After peeking into the downstairs rooms containing work by Ingre and Delacroix, we headed to Manet’s notorious ‘Olympia.’ It caused absolute outrage when first displayed in the 1865 salon even more than his ‘Déjeuner sur l’Herbe’ also housed in the Musée d’Orsay which shocked the salon with a nude woman represented out of a mythical context casually sitting with two academics in public. Manet’s has modeled Olympia on Titian’s ‘Venus of Urbino,’ but unlike Venus who tenderly holds the flowers in her left hand, Olympia ignores the flowers presented by her clothed black maid, representative of her sexual independence from men, demanding money for her body in her role as a prostitute. The replacement of the dog, symbolic of fidelity, with a black cat, representing prostitution, as well as he orchid in her hair, black ribbon around her neck and cast off slipper, identify her as a prostitute. It was not her profession which shocked the people but her but confrontational, harsh gaze. Emilé Zola later appreciated Manet’s honesty; “When our artists give us Venuses, they correct nature, they lie. Édouard Manet asked himself why lie, why not tell the truth; he introduced us to Olympia, this fille of our time, whom you meet on the sidewalks.”
Moving up to the fifth floor, we were met with the beautiful railway clock showing a view out to the Sacré-Couer and Montmartre where the impressionists captured the life of the cafés, restaurants and cabarets. Since my first visit to the Musée d’Orsay in the summer of 2011, the gallery has been reorganised with the impressionist works in their own stunning gallery on the top floor and the post-impressionists arranged in the middle section. The paintings are hung on gorgeous charcoal walls with nothing to distract us from theses windows into Parisian life. They are illuminated with natural light; the light in which they were painted and organised according to artist.
Impressionism is so called due to Monet’s work ‘Impression, soleil levant’ which is displayed in the Musée de Marmottan, another must-see, which resulted Louis Leroy using the term in his review. Capturing an impression was the intention of the Parisian artists who painted the people, nature and movement around them in subtle changing light and displayed their work in exhibitions independent from the official salon, the first of which was in 1874.
Always a highlight, is Claude Monet’s ‘Coquelicots,’ a snapshot of Monet’s sensations. The anecdotal characters, the little girl’s hat echoing the brilliant red poppies, dissolve into the landscape becoming a joyous part of nature. With a bench right in front of it, you are free to sit and absorb its radiant beauty. Lose track of time.
Another figure in landscape, Monet’s ‘Girl with the Umbrella’ captures an eery, haunting moment but is totally mesmerizing with its pastel, airy palette. Past his wonderful series of haystacks and studies of Roeun cathedral, running through different palettes and tones as the light changes with the time of day and season, you find his ‘Nymphéas Bleus.’ With no edge to the pond, we are immersed into the peace and tranquility of the indulgent, blue water of Giverny which was a garden which he not only represented in his paintings but created himself after moving there towards the end of his career.
One of my favourite Monet pieces is ‘Londres, Le Parlement, Truoée de Soleil dans le Brouillard,’ which I had been very disappointed not to see on my last visit in May. The Thames is hauntingly beautiful, a gorgeous blend of blue and orange, purple and red, with no distinction between the rippling water and the hazy sky.
Edgar Degas uses his complementary colours in a more subtle way in his ‘La Classe de Danse,’ the green sash picking up the red flower. Like the painter, the ballerina works tirelessly to practice and perfect in the name of beauty. What I love about Degas’ work is that he shows us a view not seen from the Royal box: the perspective of the orchestra, the ballet classes and the destruction of their bodies for the beauty of the ballet as seen in ‘Little Dancer aged 14.’ The sculpture has a taxidermical quality, originally made in wax to incoroprate real hair and ballet shoes. He pushes realism to an uncomfortable level, the impudent stance of the girl who’s body has been so strained at such a young age outraged critics at the time.
Another highlight of the visit was seeing Renoir’s ‘Bal du Moulin de la Galette’ which I had seen on my first visit but not on my second in May as it must have been part of a temporary exhibition elsewhere. The dappled light makes the rosy faces dance and flicker like a film. We feel the excitement and buzz of conversation of the Parisians.
The final painting not to be missed in the impressionist gallery is Cezanne’s ‘Pommes et Oranges.’ Cezanne, who Picasso named the father of cubism, only took part in two of the eight Impressionist exhibitions, but his work is just as atmospheric and alive as that of his contemporaries despite his contrasting style. It is as if the apples are about to roll off the table, depicted in a bold, restricted palette of red, orange, green and white.
Moving down to the middle section of the gallery, we found the Neo-Impressionist and Post-Impressionist work of Matisse, Derain, Van Gogh and Gaugin. One of my favourite Matisse’s is ‘Luxe, Calme et Volupté’ to which I simply wrote Joy. in my notes. The separated dots colours make the colours vibrate in a technique known as pointillism. The painting is recomposed by the viewer who is pulled into its vibrancy.
Yet another piece which had not been on display in May was Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘La Nuit Etonée.’ Thick strokes make up the sparkling water reflecting the twinkling stars overhead. Each stroke has a unique tone and colour, bringing the painting to life.
The perfect end to our visit was seeing ‘Les Salles les Fettes,’ a little girl’s dream with the pink and green horses in the ceiling pirouetting over the luxurious ballroom.
Map Memories 