Musée d’Orsay: Star-Struck in Paris

Musée d’Orsay was probably my favorite part of my visit to Paris. I was star-struck strolling down the Museums’s hallways and galleries viewing the works of some the most celebrated French artist that the world has ever seen.

I can only imagine how difficult it is to create an image by hand, as captivating and flawless as these artists have accomplished.

Gazing at these priceless paintings from the likes of Vincent Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Gaugin, Matisse, Redon, Manet, Vuillard, and the list goes on. The Museum houses over 2000 paintings, 600 Sculptures and many other works.

Some of my personal favorites are from Vincent Van Goghs, The Church in Auvers-Sur-Oise, Self-Portrait of Eugene Boch, and Starry Night. Thomas Coutour’s, Romans during the Decadence hangs in the main hallway making it one of the main attractions of the Museum.

The Magnificent Gold Clock that hangs in the Main Hallway of the Museum is the masterpiece that ties all these incredible works on art together, in my opinion. It makes you aware that you’re in the presence of something special.

The Museum was originally built between 1898-1900 by French Architect Victor Laloux for the Worlds Fair. It was built as a Railroad Station and named Gare d’Orsay, later converted into a Museum as the modern era of trains and transportation left it behind.

The French, with their love for the arts, decided that it was too beautiful to sit empty along the left bank of the River Seine and renovated several times. The most significantly in 1981 by the Italian architect Gae Aulenti. It took approximately five years and cost 27 Million dollars.

The Musée d’Orsay reopened its doors in December of 1986 and averages over 3 million visits annually.

Unfortunately, you might notice that I do not have many photographs of the paintings and many other parts of the Museum that I admired. There was a ban on taking photos of the arts and most everything until lifted in 2015.

But, that didn’t entirely stop me from taking a few shots wink-wink. The “Romans during the Decadence.” photos did cause a raucous by security. The Magnificent Gold Clock in the Main Hallway, enjoy. Once again, I got flagged similar to the Sistine Chapel incident. (See Vatican post) But worth it !!