How do you say “wow” in French? Musee d’Orsay

Our 3-hour walking tour when we first arrived really set us up well to plan our remaining time in Paris.  One of the things we decided we absolutely had to see was the Musee d’Orsay, located “just down the road from” the Louvre.  The museum was originally designed as a railway station, however as trains advanced and became longer the station could no longer accommodate them.  Instead of tearing the building down, it was turned into a museum.

One great piece of advice we received when visiting the musée…when you go in head right up to the 5th floor where the impressionists are, and then work your way down.  There is so much to see, that if you start at the bottom and work your way up, you’ll likely be too tired to enjoy the museum’s coup de grace.

The fifth floor is where the paintings from the great impressionists are housed, the likes of Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, and Degas just to name a few.  For me, it was simply amazing to be in the presence of these masterpieces.  There is no glass in front of the works, and you can get close enough to touch them.  If you look at different angles you can see the brush strokes, and the textures of the paintings where the masters’ brushes touched the canvas.

Mikhaila shares her thoughts on one of her favourite pieces she saw at the musee:

When we visited the Musee D’ Orsay, my favourite painting that I saw was called “Les Jeunes Filles au Piano” or “The Young Girls at the Piano” by the artist Renoir.  It depicts a girl playing the piano, and a younger girl who I assume is her sister, looking over her shoulder watching what the older one is playing.  I like this painting because it looks so happy and the two girls kind of remind me of Zoe and I, as we both play the piano, and the two girls have the same hair colours as us.

Edgar Degas painted many pictures of dancers.  One is called The Ballet Class which was painted in 1873-76.  In the picture he painted it being close to the end of the ballet class and all of the dancers are tired.  There are some girls dancing and some sitting off to the side.  One girl off to the left is itching her back, while another girl is fixing the straps on her costume.  He preferred to paint dancers in that way because he enjoyed it when they were being natural and not being so perfect like they are on stage.

There is also a small detail in the corner which is a watering can that is used to water the floor so the dancers don’t slip.  Degas was actually there and put every little detail he saw in his painting.

This painting reminds me of when I did ballet at home because I did a lot of ballet and know how tired they are.  The costumes remind me of our costumes last year because both costumes have puffy skirts and are pretty but our costumes were blue and their costumes are white.

Katina here…I really enjoyed many of the paintings at D’Orsey, but the one that especially caught my eye was Renoir’s Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette.  It is a colourful and vibrant painting that was created in 1877. It’s a very large painting that is all about pleasure and well being. One of the reasons it drew me into the picture was because it was painted in Monmartre, a lovely part of Paris that is full of art and fun.  The restaurant is still there to this day.

I could just imagine all the people gathering for a fun and festive ball with live music and merriment. There is so much happening in the picture and my eye just kept moving to different sections – for example the people dancing cheek to cheek, a couple perhaps making plans, or friends drinking and laughing too. There is movement everywhere and lots of colour and light, which made this painting to come to life for me. Overall, I think it’s the whole connection to the fun way of life and the importance to enjoy it – something they take very seriously in Paris!

 

There was some criticism around this painting as Renoir had his friends pose at the Galette for him while he painted it, but I’m sure they had a great time even while “working”.

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