Our first stop of the day was Musee d'Orsay, located on the left bank of the Siene.
The
museum houses the largest collection of impressionist and
post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including
Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van
Gogh.
The magnificent building was formerly a railway
station (Gare d'Orsay) and still contains features such as the station clock. After the closure of the station due to its short platforms it became a mailing centre during World War II, and was
later used as a theatre and film set. In 1970 permission was granted to
demolish the station but Jacques Duhamel, Minister for Cultural Affairs,
ruled against plans to build a new hotel in its stead. The museum
officially opened in December 1986 after years of renovation.
Whilst
we walked around the museum we felt an air of calm - the cool marble
floors were illuminated with floods of natural light from the glass
ceiling. The sheer scale of the building allowed you to wander around
the spacious rooms for hours, discovering new sculptures and paintings.
We were particularly impressed with the collections of Van Gogh
paintings, with 24 on display you can easily spend a few hours
admiring the art and relaxing in the lobby.
To discover more information/reviews from the 5 days we spent in Paris, click here.
To discover more information/reviews from the 5 days we spent in Paris, click here.
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