Today, Ray and I went to the famous Musee d’Orsay here in Paris. This art museum is located in what originally was a train station, which was built in 1900. In the early 1980s, it was converted into 220,000 square feet of museum space over four floors, and the museum officially opened in 1986. The original clock from the train station is still in place, as is a smaller clock that can be viewed on the main floor of the museum. In this space, the art ranges from 1848 – 1914 and is the home of some of the most famous impressionist and post-impressionist art in the world. This includes works by Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Seurat, Cezanne, Pissarro, Bonnard, Sisley, Gauguin, and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Not only is the building beautiful, but the art is some of the most recognizable (and beautiful) in the world. I had to wait while couples had their photos taken in front of Van Gogh’s Starry Night or Monet’s Water Lilies. Some of the paintings bring people to tears when they see them in person. I felt exactly that way the first time I saw Van Gogh’s Starry Night and even today when I saw his painting entitled Chrysanthemums. We had a print of this painting in my family’s home when I was growing up. The museum was packed with people who had come from all over the world to see these paintings in person, and it made me happy to see how many people felt connected to these artists and their work over 100 years after it was created.

The highlight for Ray and me today was seeing a new collection of paintings by several post-Impressionists that we’d not seen before. These paintings are currently on loan to the d’Orsay and are the work of a group that called themselves Les Nabis. These painters, Sérusier, Maurice Denis, Bonnard, and Vallotton, were inspired by Gauguin and embraced the idea that art was subjective and reflected the soul of the artist. I will show some examples below along with some favorites from other famous painters.

Today was an exciting day as we discovered these new paintings and also enjoyed others that are so wonderfully executed by these master artists. I love the Musee d’Orsay not only because of its gorgeous setting but also because the art helps me to see and appreciate life in the second half of the 19th century. I always come away from a visit feeling fulfilled, as if I’ve seen old friends again who helped me to understand life as they knew it over 100 years ago.

Here are some of the photos of our day:

Original Clock from Train Station in Restaurant

Smaller Interior Clock and Original Glass from Train Station (Rodin Sculpture in foreground)

Full Length of Main Floor of Musee d’Orsay

The Muses by Maurice Denis (These are his wife’s face in different bodies)

Women at their Toilet (Bath) by Felix Vallotton

La Naissance (Birth), L’Amour (Love), L’Existence (Existence), La Mort (Death), by Georges Lacombe

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

Chrysanthemums by Vincent van Gogh

Len near the Louvre this rainy day