It’s difficult, if not impossible, to avoid becoming an art lover when you spend time in the museums of Paris. This trip has been a turning point for me – I can honestly say that I’ll be leaving with a sincere enthusiasm for exploring museums, enthusiasm that has replaced the vague dread I had when I arrived.
As I mentioned in my post about The Louvre, the key for me is to not feel that I must stand and consider each painting, read each plaque, or be sure to stroke my chin and murmur little ooos and ahhhs. It’s wonderful and freeing to walk through these museums and let the paintings and sculptures themselves draw you this way and that.
{The painting above, displayed in what turned out to be my favorite museum, the Pompidou Centre, is by a new-to-me painter, František Kupka. It’s one of my favorites.}
I can’t share everything that moved me or even that made me scratch my head in bewilderment, but I’d love to share some highlights with you. Let’s start with my second favorite museums (you can visit them both with one ticket): the Musee D’orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie.
And I’ll begin in an unlikely spot, the gift shop.
Because when you walk into the gift shop at the Musee D’orsay and look to your right, this is what you see!
Okay, the art.
The Gleaners is one of my all-time favorite paintings – it was wonderful to see it in person.
As a food photographer, I was completely intrigued by how Paul Cézanne embraced (and captured!) the harsh light in this still life. (For my food blogging friends, FoodGawker would reject this as overexposed for sure! 🙂 )
What kind of marble is this dress made of? And how did the artist combine the different types of marble? And what about the shadows and vastly different textures? And…and…and…
I particularly enjoyed Vincent van Gogh’s paintings and, again, enjoyed taking in the details of paintings along with seeing them as complete works.
And I loved looking up close at this painting by Henri-Edmond Cross.
Keith and I spent some time with this sinewy stone fellow. Look at the veins beneath the skin on his hand.
The Monet murals are the main event, but there are many beautiful and interesting paintings (like those by Amedeo Modigliani) at Musée de l’Orangerie; it’s a little gem of a museum that is well worth a visit.
And one detail.
I didn’t expect the modern art museum, Centre Pompidou, to be my favorite museum in Paris, but it was. There were paintings and sculptures, both beautiful and odd that I enjoyed, but it was all of the off-beat details of the museum that stole my heart and captivated my attention.
To move between the floors of the museum, you use stairs or escalators on the outside of the building. They’re also transparent. The two middle floors are a public library. The top floor offers spectacular city views and has a bar and restaurant with walls of glass. The museum is open until 10pm, 11pm on Thursdays – it felt different and exciting to explore it at night.
Outside the museum is a huge square with a jubilant spirit: street performers working magic or playing music, people lounging and reading books, others laughing and talking, kids playing.
On the night we were there, two people were in the square with buckets of soap and wands that they waved to create huge bubbles that kids were having great fun trying to pop.
Inside the museum, I enjoyed watching a teacher or mom with a few kids who were working on their own creations.
I’ll admit that some of the paintings were creepy and other works left me scratching my head.
But there was also this, another by František Kupka and what is now my favorite work by Henri Matisse, The Violinist at the Window.
So now I consider myself an art lover – not in an academic sense, but in the sense of enjoyment and appreciation. And that alone makes me so glad we made this trip.
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