The Musee d’Orsay is a grand, architectural marvel standing strong along the River Seine. The Musée d’Orsay is a unique and beautiful art gallery that provides a unique and different experience when visiting Paris.
The art collection starts outside the Musée d’Orsay, the main (ticket) entrance there are three huge animal statues. A Rhino, A baby elephant, and a Horse. On the south side of the plaza is the six allegorical female statues all in a row. These are said to represent the six continents, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and Oceania.
It looks like a train station
It was originally built as a train station between 1898 and 1900. Paris was going to be hosting the Universal Expo showcasing the cities achievements. The French Government was expecting millions of extra visitors to the city so, in turn, to help with transport they decided to build an additional train station. Unfortunately a mere 40 years later; the train station became obsolete as the platforms were too short for the new electric trains. The team of 3 architects led by Victor Laloux who designed the building; had to ensure the building complemented its grand neighbours the Louvre and Jardin des Tuileries. Looking at his masterpiece from the outside it has an enormous clock face on the front façade. Back in the 1900s people could not afford watches so large clocks were placed around the city.
Inside the museum are spectacular, beautiful stone facades, an ornately decorated ceiling, and an incredible glass roof. The roof is designed to let in as much natural light as possible and is made up of over 35,000 square meters of glass that equates to 5 football fields. This museum is gigantic, 574 feet long and 246 wide. The Central hall alone is 459 feet long, 131 feet wide, and 105 feet high. A total of 12,000 tons of metal was used in its construction, which is more than the amount used to build the Eiffel Tower.
Musee D’Orsay Art Collection
The Musee d’Orsay is now home to some of the world’s best collections of 19th and early 20th-century art. There are more than 2,000 art pieces and about 600 sculptures among other historic artifacts. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world; Monet, Cézanna, Renoir, and Van Gogh – Van Gogh has such an interesting and amazing life read a bit about it Great Dutch Artists.
The Gates of Hell
One of the most interesting and extravagant pieces was Auguste Rodin’s; “Gates of Hell”. Rodin was commissioned to design/replace the original entrance to the building after it was destroyed by fire. Unfortunately, 3 years later the plans for the Museum were scrapped and along with it the need for the entrance. Rodin kept going with this masterpiece creating a surreal, with statutes being modelled to literally come out of the frame. One of the most recognizable is the Thinker who is perched in the middle of the doorway. Auguste Rodin has a gallery dedicated to him just next to the Eglise Du Dome if you want to check it out.
Visiting the Musee d’Orsay
The Musee D’Orsay is the 5th most visited attraction in Paris so it does get crazy especially during summer, so just be patient. Book ahead and it will make your life so much easier. Tickets can be purchased from the official website they are 16 Euro per person.
If you have been to Paris before and have done all the main sites, Check out the Musee d’Orsay. Even if you are not a diehard art lover the building itself is a masterpiece. You won’t regret your visit.
