Musée d'Orsay
Encyclopedia
The Musée d'Orsay is a museum
in Paris
, France
, on the left bank of the Seine
. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay
, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art
dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture
, and photography
. It is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces (the largest in the world) by such painters such as Monet, Manet
, Degas, Renoir
, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley
, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Many of these works were held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
prior to the museum's opening in 1986.
, constructed for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle
to the design of three architects: Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard
and Victor Laloux
. It was the terminus for the railways of southwestern France until 1939.
By 1939 the station's short platforms had become unsuitable for the longer trains that had come to be used for mainline services. After 1939 it was used for suburban services and part of it became a mailing centre during World War II
. It was then used as a set for several films, such as Kafka's The Trial
adapted by Orson Welles
, and as a haven for the Renaud
-Barrault
Theatre Company and for auctioneers, while the Hôtel Drouot
was being rebuilt.
In 1970, permission was granted to demolish the station but Jacques Duhamel, the then Minister for Cultural Affairs, ruled against plans to build a new hotel in its stead. The station was then put on the supplementary list of Historic Monuments and finally listed in 1978. The suggestion to turn the station into a museum came from the Directorate of the Museums of France. The idea was to build a museum which would bridge the gap between the Louvre and the National Museum of Modern Art at the George Pompidou Centre. This plan was accepted by George Pompidou and a study was commissioned in 1974. In 1978, a competition was organized to design the new museum. ACT Architecture, a team of three young architects (Pierre Colboc, Renaud Bardon and Jean-Paul Philippon, were awarded the contract which involved creating 20,000 sq. m. of new floorspace on four floors. The construction work was carried out by Bouygues
. In 1981, the Italian architect, Gae Aulenti
was chosen to design the interior including the internal arrangement, decoration, furniture and fittings of the museum. Finally in July 1986, the museum was ready to receive it's exhibits. It took 6 months to install the 2000 or so paintings, 600 sculptures and other works. The museum was officially opened in December 1986 by the then president of the Republique François Mitterand.
The square next to the museum displays six bronze allegorical sculptural groups in a row, originally produced for the Exposition Universelle (1878)
:
_(1).jpg)
, Jules Cavelier, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
, Auguste Rodin
, Paul Gauguin
, Camille Claudel
and Honoré Daumier
.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on the left bank of the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay
Gare d'Orsay
Gare d'Orsay is a former Paris railway station and hotel, built in 1900 to designs by Victor Laloux, Lucien Magne and Émile Bénard; it served as a terminus for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans . It was the first electrified urban rail terminal in the world, opened 28 May 1900, in time for the...
, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art
French art
French art consists of the visual and plastic arts originating from the geographical area of France...
dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, and photography
Fine art photography
Fine art photography refers to photographs that are created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer as artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism, which provides a visual account for news events, and commercial photography, the primary focus of which is to...
. It is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces (the largest in the world) by such painters such as Monet, Manet
Manet
-MANET as an abbreviation:*MANET is a mobile ad hoc network, a self-configuring mobile wireless network.*MANET database or Molecular Ancestry Network, bioinformatics database-People with the surname Manet:*Édouard Manet, a 19th-century French painter....
, Degas, Renoir
Renoir
-People with the surname Renoir :* Pierre-Auguste Renoir , French painter* Pierre Renoir , French actor and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir* Jean Renoir , French film director and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir...
, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley
Sisley
Sisley may refer to:*Alfred Sisley, a French impressionist painter of English origin*Sisley, a Benetton Group brand, established in 1974*Sisley Paris, , a French cosmetics company founded in Paris in 1976 by Roland de Saint Vincent and Jean Francois Laporte, before being taken over by the famous...
, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Many of these works were held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is a museum of contemporary art in the north-west corner of the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.The building was constructed in 1861 during the reign of Napoleon III...
prior to the museum's opening in 1986.
History
The museum building was originally a railway station, Gare d'OrsayGare d'Orsay
Gare d'Orsay is a former Paris railway station and hotel, built in 1900 to designs by Victor Laloux, Lucien Magne and Émile Bénard; it served as a terminus for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans . It was the first electrified urban rail terminal in the world, opened 28 May 1900, in time for the...
, constructed for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...
to the design of three architects: Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard
Émile Bénard
Henri Jean Émile Bénard , was a French architect and painter. Trained at the Beaux-Arts, Bénard was the winner of The Phoebe Hearst International Architectural Competition and the Berkeley Campus in 1899 with his project "Roma." The competition and his design led to the current University of...
and Victor Laloux
Victor Laloux
Victor Alexandre Frederic Laloux was a French Beaux-Arts architect and teacher.- Life :Born in Tours, Laloux studied at the Paris École des Beaux-Arts atelier of Louis-Jules André, with his studies interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War, and was awarded the annual Prix de Rome in 1878...
. It was the terminus for the railways of southwestern France until 1939.
By 1939 the station's short platforms had become unsuitable for the longer trains that had come to be used for mainline services. After 1939 it was used for suburban services and part of it became a mailing centre during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was then used as a set for several films, such as Kafka's The Trial
The Trial (1962 film)
The Trial is a 1962 film directed by Orson Welles, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka...
adapted by Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, and as a haven for the Renaud
Madeleine Renaud
Madeleine Renaud was a distinguished actress and a major figure in French theater in the 20th century. She was born Lucie Madeleine Renaud in Paris and died there, aged 94, in 1994....
-Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
Theatre Company and for auctioneers, while the Hôtel Drouot
Hôtel Drouot
Hôtel Drouot is a large auction house in Paris, known for fine art, antiques, and antiquities. It consists of 16 halls hosting 70 independent auction firms, which operate under the umbrella grouping of Drouot....
was being rebuilt.
Bouygues
Bouygues S.A. is a French industrial group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip in the CAC 40 stock market index. The company was founded in 1952 by Francis Bouygues and since 1989 has been led by his son Martin...
. In 1981, the Italian architect, Gae Aulenti
Gae Aulenti
Gae Aulenti is an Italian architect, lighting and interior designer, and industrial designer. She is well known for several large-scale museum projects, including Musée d'Orsay in Paris , the Contemporary Art Gallery at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Palazzo Grassi in Venice , and the Asian Art...
was chosen to design the interior including the internal arrangement, decoration, furniture and fittings of the museum. Finally in July 1986, the museum was ready to receive it's exhibits. It took 6 months to install the 2000 or so paintings, 600 sculptures and other works. The museum was officially opened in December 1986 by the then president of the Republique François Mitterand.
Exposition Universelle (1878)
The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May through to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.-Construction:...
:
- South America by Aimé MilletAimé MilletAimé Millet was a noted French sculptor, who was born and died in Paris.Millet was the son of miniaturist Frederick Millet and uncle to Chicago architectural decorator Julian Louis Millet...
- Asia by Alexandre FalguièreAlexandre FalguièreJean Alexandre Joseph Falguière was a French sculptor and painter.He was born in Toulouse...
- Oceania by Mathurin MoreauMathurin MoreauMathurin Moreau was a French sculptor in the academic style.Moreau was born in Dijon, first exhibited in the 1848 Salon, and finally received a medal of honor from the Salon in 1897...
- Europe by Alexandre Schoenewerk
- North America by Ernest-Eugène HiolleErnest-Eugène HiolleErnest-Eugène Hiolle was a French sculptor who specialized in classical and allegorical figures in plaster and bronze, as well as many contemporary portrait busts....
- Africa by Eugène DelaplancheEugène DelaplancheEugène Delaplanche was a French sculptor, born at Belleville .-Life:He was a pupil of Duret, gained the Prix de Rome in 1864 , and the medal of honor in 1878. His "Messenger of Love" , "Aurora" , and the "Virgin of the Lillies" , are in the Luxembourg...
Collection
Paintings: major painters and works represented
- Jean Auguste Dominique IngresJean Auguste Dominique IngresJean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was a French Neoclassical painter. Although he considered himself to be a painter of history in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, by the end of his life it was Ingres's portraits, both painted and drawn, that were recognized as his greatest...
— 4 paintings (the main collection of his paintings is in the LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
) - Eugène DelacroixEugène DelacroixFerdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
— 5 paintings (the main collection of his paintings is in the LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
) - Théodore ChassériauThéodore ChassériauThéodore Chassériau was a French romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to Algeria.-Life and work:...
— 5 paintings (the main collection of his paintings is in the LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
) - Gustave CourbetGustave CourbetJean Désiré Gustave Courbet was a French painter who led the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting. The Realist movement bridged the Romantic movement , with the Barbizon School and the Impressionists...
— 48 paintings including The Artist's StudioThe Artist's StudioThe Artist's Studio : A Real Allegory of a Seven Year Phase in my Artistic and Moral Life is an 1855 oil painting on canvas by Gustave Courbet. It is located in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France....
, A Burial at OrnansA Burial At OrnansA Burial At Ornans is a painting of 1849–50 by Gustave Courbet, and one of the major turning points of 19th-century French art. The painting records the funeral in September 1848 of his great-uncle in the painter's birthplace, the small town of Ornans...
, Young Man Sitting, L'Origine du mondeL'Origine du mondeL’Origine du monde is an oil-on-canvas painted by French artist Gustave Courbet in 1866. It is a close-up view of the genitals and abdomen of a naked woman, lying on a bed with legs spread... - Jean-François MilletJean-François MilletJean-François Millet was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France...
— 27 paintings including Spring, The GleanersThe GleanersThe Gleaners is an oil painting by Jean-François Millet completed in 1857. It depicts three peasant women gleaning a field of stray grains of wheat after the harvest... - Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot — 32 paintings (the main collection of his paintings is in the LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
though) including A Morning. The Dance of the Nymphs - Johan Barthold Jongkind — 9 paintings
- Alexandre CabanelAlexandre CabanelAlexandre Cabanel was a French painter.- Biography :Cabanel was born in Montpellier, Hérault. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter...
— The Birth of VenusThe Birth of Venus (Cabanel)The Birth of Venus is a painting by the French artist Alexandre Cabanel . It was painted in 1863, and is now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris...
, The Death of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta - Jean-Léon GérômeJean-Léon GérômeJean-Léon Gérôme was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax.-Life:Jean-Léon Gérôme was born...
— Portrait of the baroness Nathaniel de Rothschild, Reception of Condé in Versailles, La Comtesse de Keller - Pierre Puvis de ChavannesPierre Puvis de ChavannesPierre Puvis de Chavannes was a French painter, who became the president and co-founder of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and whose work influenced many other artists.-Life:...
— Young Girls by the Seaside, The Young Mother also known as Charity, View on the Château de Versailles and the Orangerie - Gustave MoreauGustave MoreauGustave Moreau was a French Symbolist painter whose main emphasis was the illustration of biblical and mythological figures. As a painter of literary ideas, Moreau appealed to the imaginations of some Symbolist writers and artists.- Biography :Moreau was born in Paris. His father, Louis Jean Marie...
— 8 paintings - Honoré DaumierHonoré DaumierHonoré Daumier was a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor, whose many works offer commentary on social and political life in France in the 19th century....
— 8 paintings - Eugène BoudinEugène BoudinEugène Boudin was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors.Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores...
— 33 paintings including Trouville Beach - Camille PissarroCamille PissarroCamille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
— 46 paintings including White Frost - Édouard ManetÉdouard ManetÉdouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
— 34 paintings including OlympiaOlympia (painting)Olympia is an oil on canvas painting by Édouard Manet. Painted in 1863, it measures 130.5 by 190 centimetres . The nation of France acquired the painting in 1890 with a public subscription organized by Claude Monet...
, The Balcony, Berthe Morisot With a Bouquet of Violets, The Luncheon on the GrassThe Luncheon on the GrassLe déjeuner sur l'herbe – originally titled Le Bain – is a large oil on canvas painting by Édouard Manet created in 1862 and 1863. The painting depicts the juxtaposition of a female nude and a scantily dressed female bather on a picnic with two fully dressed men in a rural setting... - Berthe MorisotBerthe MorisotBerthe Morisot was a painter and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists. She was described by Gustave Geffroy in 1894 as one of "les trois grandes dames" of Impressionism alongside Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt.In 1864, she exhibited for the first...
— 9 paintings - Edgar DegasEdgar DegasEdgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
— 43 paintings including The Parade, also known as Race Horses in front of the Tribunes, The Bellelli Family, The Tub, Portrait of Edouard Manet, Portraits, At the Stock ExchangePortraits, At the Stock ExchangePortraits at the Stock Exchange is a painting by French artist Edgar Degas. Completed circa 1879, this painting is interpreted as an anti-Semitic depiction of Jews in Paris, due especially to the exaggerated features and postures of the subjects...
, L’Absinthe - Paul CézannePaul CézannePaul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
— 56 paintings including Apples and Oranges - Claude MonetClaude MonetClaude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
— 86 paintings (the main collection of his paintings is in the Musée Marmottan Monet though) including The Saint-Lazare Station, The Rue Montorgueil in Paris. Celebration of June 30, 1878, Wind Effect, Series of The Poplars, Rouen Cathedral. Harmony in Blue, Blue Water Lilies - Alfred SisleyAlfred SisleyAlfred Sisley was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life, in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedication to painting landscape en plein air...
— 46 paintings including Inondation at Port-Marly - Armand GuillauminArmand GuillauminArmand Guillaumin , was a French impressionist painter and lithographer.Born Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin in Paris, he worked at his uncle's lingerie shop while attending evening drawing lessons. He also worked for a French government railway before studying at the Académie Suisse in 1861...
— 44 paintings - Frédéric BazilleFrédéric BazilleJean Frédéric Bazille was a French Impressionist painter. Many of Bazille's major works are examples of figure painting in which Bazille placed the subject figure within a landscape painted en plein air....
— 6 paintings - Mary CassattMary CassattMary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...
— 1 painting - Odilon RedonOdilon RedonBertrand-Jean Redon, better known as Odilon Redon was a French symbolist painter, printmaker, draughtsman and pastellist.-Life:...
— 106 paintings including Caliban - Pierre-Auguste RenoirPierre-Auguste RenoirPierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
— 81 paintings including Bal au moulin de la Galette, MontmartreBal au moulin de la Galette, MontmartreBal du moulin de la Galette is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is one of Impressionism's most celebrated masterpieces. The painting depicts a typical Sunday afternoon at Moulin de la Galette in the district of Montmartre in... - Ferdinand HodlerFerdinand HodlerFerdinand Hodler was one of the best-known Swiss painters of the 19th century.-Life:Hodler was born in Berne, the eldest of six children. His father, Jean Hodler, made a meager living as a carpenter; his mother, Marguerite , was from a peasant family...
— Der Holzfäller (The Woodcutter) - Gustave CaillebotteGustave CaillebotteGustave Caillebotte was a French painter, member and patron of the group of artists known as Impressionists, though he painted in a much more realistic manner than many other artists in the group...
— 7 paintings including The Floor Planers - Édouard DetailleÉdouard DetailleJean Baptiste Édouard Detaille , was a French Academic painter and military artist noted for his precision and realistic detail....
— The Dream - Vincent van GoghVincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
— 24 paintings including Self Portrait, portrait of his friend Eugene BochEugène BochEugène Boch was a Belgian painter, born in Saint-Waast, Nord, Hainaut, and the younger brother of Anna Boch, a founding member of Les XX....
, The Siesta, The Church at AuversThe Church at AuversThe Church at Auvers was painted by Dutch post-impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh in 1890.-History:...
, View from the Chevet, The Italian Woman, Starry Night Over the RhoneStarry Night Over the RhoneStarry Night Over the Rhone is one of Vincent van Gogh's paintings of Arles at night; it was painted at a spot on the banks of river which was only a minute or two's walk from the Yellow House on the Place Lamartine which Van Gogh was renting at the time...
, Portrait of Dr. GachetPortrait of Dr. GachetPortrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. It depicts Dr. Paul Gachet, who took care of him during the final months of his life...
, Bedroom in ArlesBedroom in ArlesBedroom in Arles is the title given to each of three similar paintings by 19th-century Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh.Van Gogh's own title for this composition was simply The Bedroom... - Paul GauguinPaul GauguinEugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
— 24 paintings including Tahitian Women on the BeachTahitian Women on the BeachTahitian Women on the Beach is a 1891 painting by Paul Gauguin. The painting depicts two women on the Pacific island of Tahiti on the beach.The painting is currently in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay, located in Paris, France.... - Henri de Toulouse-LautrecHenri de Toulouse-LautrecHenri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
— 18 paintings - Eugène JanssonEugène JanssonEugène Fredrik Jansson was a Swedish painter known for his night-time land- and cityscapes dominated by shades of blue. Towards the end of his life, from about 1904, he mainly painted male nudes...
— Proletarian Lodgings - Henri-Edmond CrossHenri-Edmond CrossHenri-Edmond Cross was a French pointillist painter.- Life and career :Cross was born in Douai and grew up in Lille. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. His early works, portraits and still lifes, were in the dark colors of realism, but after meeting with Claude Monet in 1883, he painted in...
— 10 paintings including The Cypresses in Cagnes - Paul SignacPaul SignacPaul Signac was a French neo-impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style.-Biography:Paul Victor Jules Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863...
— 16 paintings including Women at the Well - Theo van RysselbergheThéo van RysselbergheThéo van Rysselberghe was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the century.-Early years:...
— 6 paintings - Félix VallottonFélix VallottonFélix Edouard Vallotton was a Swiss painter and printmaker associated with Les Nabis. He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut.-Life and work:...
— Misia at Her Dressing Table - Georges-Pierre SeuratGeorges-Pierre SeuratGeorges-Pierre Seurat was a French Post-Impressionist painter and draftsman. He is noted for his innovative use of drawing media and for devising a technique of painting known as pointillism...
— 19 paintings including The Circus - Edouard VuillardÉdouard VuillardJean-Édouard Vuillard was a French painter and printmaker associated with the Nabis.-Early years and education:...
— 70 paintings - Henri RousseauHenri RousseauHenri Julien Félix Rousseau was a French Post-Impressionist painter in the Naïve or Primitive manner. He was also known as Le Douanier , a humorous description of his occupation as a toll collector...
— 3 paintings - Pierre BonnardPierre BonnardPierre Bonnard was a French painter and printmaker, as well as a founding member of Les Nabis.-Biography:...
— 60 paintings including The Chequered Blouse - Paul SérusierPaul SérusierPaul Sérusier was a French painter who was a pioneer of abstract art and an inspiration for the avant-garde Nabi movement, Synthetism and Cloisonnism.- Education :...
— The Talisman, the Aven River at the Bois d'Amour - Maurice DenisMaurice DenisMaurice Denis was a French painter and writer, and a member of the Symbolist and Les Nabis movements. His theories contributed to the foundations of cubism, fauvism, and abstract art.-Childhood and education:...
— Portrait of the Artist Aged Eighteen, Princess Maleine's Minuet or Marthe Playing the Piano, The Green Trees or Beech Trees in Kerduel, October Night (panel for the decoration of a girl's room) - André DerainAndré DerainAndré Derain was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.-Early years:...
— Charing Cross Bridge, also known as Westminster Bridge - Edvard MunchEdvard MunchEdvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
— 1 painting - Gustav KlimtGustav KlimtGustav Klimt was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects...
— 1 painting - Piet MondrianPiet MondrianPieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...
— 2 paintings - James McNeill WhistlerJames McNeill WhistlerJames Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
— 3 paintings including Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother, also known as Whistler's MotherWhistler's MotherArrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother, famous under its colloquial name Whistler's Mother, is an 1871 oil-on-canvas painting by American-born painter James McNeill Whistler. The painting is , displayed in a frame of Whistler's own design, and is now owned by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.... - William Adolphe Bouguereau — The Birth of VenusThe Birth of Venus (Bouguereau)The Birth of Venus is one of the most famous paintings by 19th century painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau. It depicts not the actual birth of Venus from the sea, but the transportation of Venus in a shell from the sea to Paphos in Cyprus. For Bouguereau, it was truly a tour de force...
- Cecilia BeauxCecilia BeauxCecilia Beaux was an American society portraitist, in the manner of John Singer Sargent. She was a near contemporary of better-known American artist Mary Cassatt and also received her training in Philadelphia and France...
– Sita and Sarita (Jeune Fille au Chat)
Sculptures
Major sculptors includes François RudeFrançois Rude
François Rude was a French sculptor. He was the stepfather of Paul Cabet, a sculptor.Born in Dijon, he worked at his father's trade as a stovemaker till the age of sixteen, but received training in drawing from François Devosges, where he learned that a strong, simple contour was an invaluable...
, Jules Cavelier, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux was a French sculptor and painter.Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpeaux entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1844 and won the Prix de Rome in 1854, and moving to Rome to find inspiration, he there studied the works of...
, Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
, Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
, Camille Claudel
Camille Claudel
Camille Claudel was a French sculptor and graphic artist. She was the elder sister of the poet and diplomat Paul Claudel.- Early years :...
and Honoré Daumier
Honoré Daumier
Honoré Daumier was a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor, whose many works offer commentary on social and political life in France in the 19th century....
.
Management
The Directors have been:- Françoise Cachin: 1986–1994
- Henri Loyrette: 1994–2001
- Serge Lemoine: 2001–2008
- Guy Cogeval: March 2008–present
See also
- List of museums in Paris
- Gare d'OrsayGare d'OrsayGare d'Orsay is a former Paris railway station and hotel, built in 1900 to designs by Victor Laloux, Lucien Magne and Émile Bénard; it served as a terminus for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans . It was the first electrified urban rail terminal in the world, opened 28 May 1900, in time for the...
The former railway station - Musée d'Orsay (Paris RER)Musée d'Orsay (Paris RER)Musée d'Orsay is a station in line C of the Paris Region's Réseau express régional rapid transit system, named after the Musée d'Orsay. It is situated in the 7th arrondissement of Paris.-Adjacent stations:...
The RER station now serving the museum.