Beyond the Louvre
The Musee du Louvre, located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, France, is the most visited art museum in the whole world. This beautiful fortress, dedicated to the preservation and display of art and other treasures, is a central landmark of the city and contains over 35,000 objects from throughout the history of humankind.
Visiting the Louvre is a must for anyone interested in art or history and travelling to Paris as there is enough here in this enormous museum to keep a visitor occupied for days. However, travelling to Paris and only visiting the Louvre is a mistake, because the City of Light also has a number of other excellent galleries that are worth visiting. The collection of amazing art in Paris certainly doesn’t stop at the glass pyramid.
The Musee d’Orsay
This art museum is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, which was once a railway station. Built between 1898 and 1900, this high-ceilinged Beaux-Arts building is remarkable in itself. Inside its large wide open space, the museum displays a collection of mostly French art from the period between 1848 and 1915, including some beautiful examples of sculpture, furniture, paintings and photography. Chronologically, this museum is the perfect bridge between the antiquated collections at the Louvre and the bold modern works at the Musee Natonal d’Art Moderne at the Georges Pompidou Centre.
The most impressive aspect of the Musee d’Orsay is the Impressionist collection, which is the largest in the world. The great masters of this revolutionary movement were experimenting with capturing the effects of light and the ephemeral moment and their paintings are some of the most famous images of their time. Walking through this part of the museum reveals that all of the “big names” are here, including Van Gogh, Gauguin, Sisley, Seurat, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, Manet and Monet.
Musee National d’Art Moderne
In 1917 a French artist named Marcel Duchamp signed and submitted a ready-made urinal as his “art piece” in an un-juried exhibition in New York City. The work challenged the preconceived notions of what art should be and is now considered one of the most influential artworks of the 20th century.
Sparked by the idea that art could be more about the process, the story, the meaning and the interpretation, 20th century art went after Duchamp down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. A trip to the Musee National d’Art Moderne will send you on a grand adventure exploring the strange and thought-provoking work of the Surrealists, Fauvists, Expressionists, Cubists, Dadaists, Pop Artists and Abstract Artists including Picasso, Braque, Warhol, Pollock and Rothko.
The building itself which this museum is housed within is also very interesting, as it is designed in a somewhat “inside out” style with the pipes and ducts exposed on the outside and painted in bright colours.
The Rodin Museum
Another excellent museum in Paris which is worth a visit is the Rodin Museum, dedicated to the life work of one of France’s greatest modern sculptors. This museum has a number of the artist’s most well-known masterpieces, such as “The Thinker”, “The Kiss” and “The Gates of Hell” and it receives at least 700,000 visitors every year.
There are actually two sites to the museum, which was opened in 1919. The first is at the Hotel Biron in central Paris and the second site is located just outside of the city at Rodin’s old home. What is lovely about the Paris location is that the sculptures are set within the beautiful natural surroundings of the outdoor gardens. These gardens are a perfect place for a quiet stroll on a beautiful summer’s day and you will also find a restaurant and a cafe.
Rodin also used to collect works by other artists such as Van Gogh, Monet and Renoir, so the museum also showcases some pieces from his collection.
Musee Carnavalet
Paris is a fascinating city with a long and complex history and the best place to learn more about it is the Carnavalet Museum. This museum is dedicated to the history of the city and is housed within two mansions on the Rue de Sevigne.
The museum tells the story of everything that has happened since the tiny village of Lutece was inhabited by Parisii tribes in the first century AD. It illustrates these tales with sculptures, paintings, artefacts and photographs. Some of the most amazing exhibits at this museum include a recreation with the original furniture of the room where Marcel Proust wrote “In Search of Lost time” and the extremely ornate cradle where Louis Napoleon Bonaparte slept as a baby.
As you can see, the artistic treasures of Paris go well beyond the Musee du Louvre and there are many excellent galleries and museums to explore in this amazing city. Enjoy your journey into the past!
