Musée d'Orsay

The best part about taking Histoire de L'art in Paris is that most of the actual paintings are in Paris! We took a field trip to the Musée d'Orsay to see some of the paintings that we had been learning about in class. Our professor guided us through the first floor of the museum, starting with the Realisme movement and Jean-Francais Millet's Les Glaneuses. It was interesting to see the actual size of the paintings because he always mentions them in class. Also, he showed us the progression through each movement. We covered Realisme, Impressionisme, Post-Impressionisme, Neo-Impressionisme, Fauvisme, and Expressionisme. We saw works by Manet, Gauguin, VanGogh, Monet, Renoir, Degas,and many others. It was a 2 1/2 hour personal tour of the museum in French. I really enjoyed the Pointilisme and Fauvisme works because you could see each individual brushstroke. After class, I stayed to look at the Psychodelic Exhibit on the second floor. It was all artwork from the 60s; album covers, furniture, and posters in French. Unfortunately the other floors are closed, including the Impressionist's floor, so I didn't get to see all of the paintings that we learned about. But the actual museum is amazing to see because it is in an old train station (gare) and free for students! We have 2 more museum visits with class to other museums in Paris. I'm looking forward to them.

They also have an exhibit in the back of the Musée that is a model of the old Opera house. Under a glass floor display, they have a replica of the Paris city streets and open model of the Opera house. You can see all of the stage equipment. It's definitely worth taking a trip to the back of the museum.

Musée Marmottan-Claude Monet

I went on a Sunday adventure to a small Monet and Impressionist museum in the 16th Arrondisement. I walked through a park with lots of families and a donkey ride (bizarre) to get to the tucked away museum. There was a long line of people in front of a white house with colorful flags, as I ventured closer, I realized that it was the Musée Marmottan- Monet. The outdoor line moved quickly and I was soon inside this gorgeous home in Paris. They have the rooms set up with furniture as if someone lived there, but hung on all of the walls are some of the greatest Monets. The rooms trace his career, his different styles, and scatter in a few other Impressionists, like Manet, Renoir, and Auguste Rodin. I was actually impressed by the house as much as the artwork. I moved into a hallway and gallarie that traced his paintings at Givery, then the Nympheas, then just paintings of scenery. Standing alone in a glass case was his actual paint palette!

The best part is that in my modern and contemporary art class, we just studied Impressionism. We studied Monet's Impression Soleil Levant, and it was right there!

In the basement, there was an exhibition on the Fauves and Expressionists. They have much more colorful and abstract painting than Monet but it was cool to see. When I got home, I started reading for my next Art History class and the chapter was called "Expressionisme et les Fauves". I was so excited because I had just seen some of the artwork! Studying art in Paris is really the best choice that I could have made. I miss my business classes but it's amazing to study something that is literally part of Paris.

Musée etiquette: The museum was crowded but the upstairs felt very open. It was cool to be a part of the Parisians, waltzing around discussing the artwork. But downstairs got a little pushy- a woman literally shoved me aside to read the name of a painting and then shoved me to the next one. I thought that museum etiquette would be more universal but I think the personal space limits are quite different in Europe. I tried as best as I could to move along from one painting to the next, in pace with my art-enthusiast friends.