Istanbul: Weekend around Geneva : Paris and Nîmes : Barcelona and Cádiz : Seville : Granada : Córdoba : Mérida and Cáceres : Salamanca, Avila & Segovia : Madrid & Valencia : Art in Spain
It was a youthful dream to live in Paris and how I wish I had made more effort to carry it out as I would have frequent access to a range of fabulous art museums. We only touched the surface in our 2 days there, but I thoroughly enjoyed the 4 museums we visited. Please visit the websites of the museums to find out more and see better photos of the works. This is a very personal account, an aide memoire for myself.
Musée d’Orsay
Website: https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/
On the left bank of the Seine and housed in an old railway station, this is a fabulous museum, but very popular. Buy your ticket an advance and prepare for crowds, especially in the rooms of Impressionist paintings. Generally people are well behaved and move along allowing one 30 secs before a painting, just enough time to stare at it and take a pic. Of course there are many young people who want to stand with their backs to the painting, so that they can take a selfie, or have a friend take a pic of them with the famous painting in the background. They seem oblivious to the fact they are obscuring everyone else’s view of the work.
The Impressionist collection is jaw-dropping, as is the collection of van Goghs. I was particularly taken by Starry night over the Rhône. No illustration can capture the light in that painting, the glow of the stars.
This museum is full of paintings that are so famous they feature on jigsaw puzzles. It does not only contain paintings, there is sculpture and furniture and other decorative arts too. If you visit Paris, it is a must see.
Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (MAM)
Website: https://www.mam.paris.fr/en
This museum is housed in a grand building, I think part of the Palais de Tokyo, near the Seine in Paris. Access to the main collection is free. It is well worth a visit as the collection is extensive and well displayed. I discovered many artists I had never heard of and was delighted to find a work by one of my favourites, Jean Crotti, although my photograph is not good. If you like Robert Delaunay’s colourful paintings, there is a whole series of his large works here.
Musée Marmatton Monet
Website: https://www.marmottan.fr/en/
This museum is housed in an old house in the suburbs of Paris, near a park. The grand furnishing of the house remain and they have an extensive collection of illuminated manuscripts, but they were poorly lit and very difficult to see. When we were there they had a superb Eugene Boudin exhibition on. They also had a gallery devoted to Berthe Morisot works. She is one of my favourite Impressionists. I was a tad disappointed by the Monet collection, I am not sure why, but they did have one absolutely fabulous painting, the painting of a sunrise which gave its name to the whole movement –Impressionism.
Fondation Louis Vuitton
Website: https://www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr/en
This museum, which is housed in the striking Frank Gehry building, opened in 2014. I am not sure if it has a permanent collection, but when we were there almost the entire space was taken by a large exhibition of David Hockney’s works.
Once again it was interesting to see his early works and how his style developed. He is a very prolific artist who has embraced modern technology, many of the works being comprised of slideshows of changing paintings, mostly landscapes. His colours are exceptionally bright and the pictures flat. I liked those which displayed a Japanese line to them. Some paintings were enormous.
One room was set out as an opera house with sound and evolving images covering the walls, an all embracing experience for the viewer. There were also some portraits, mostly of family and friends, which I liked a lot. His art suggested to me that he is a happy, confident man, who enjoys trying something new and pushing boundaries.
As regards the gallery itself, although I have always admired Frank Gehry’s work, this is the first time I have been inside one of his buildings. I was not overly impressed. There seemed to be lots of wasted space. The views from the roof, although special in places were cut off and pokey overlooking the Bois de Boulogne. There was a decided shortage of toilets. Queueing for the loo is unforgivable in a modern, designed for purpose building.
Click on an image below to open the gallery.
2025 Trip: Art in Paris Gallery
