Dalai Lama
Photo by Allison Planck; Minolta x-700
THE RECONSTITUED TRAIN STATION:
Museé D'Orsay
Museé d'Orsay was, by far, the most memorable museum that I visited in Paris. When I got past the ticket booth and walked into the main entrance of the museum, the whole room opened up before me and was flooded with light. Fantastic sculptures lined the bottom floor walk way and more of the marble and metal giants towered above us on the second level of the museum. It was easy to see, with the high glass ceiling and polished floors, how this space would have originally functioned as a railway station. The Orsay station was originally built for completion in 1900 for the Worlds Fair, making the beautiful construction a public spectacle. After a long history of use, the then closed train station was converted in 1986 to a museum that would display art from the 19th century. The collection of d'Orsay includes an exceptional number of works from artists within the Impressionist period - some of which are my all-time favorites in history.
Right: Post card collected in Paris
Left: Interior of the D'Orsay
Photo by Allison Planck; Minolta x-700
To include a customized list of my 'must-sees' would be impossible - there are far too many beautiful works by monumental characters in art history that reside amonst the walls of d'Orsay. However, I have chosen three specific works that blew me away - all of which require much more than a simple picture to give them due justice.
Edouard Manet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1863
If you have taken any basic courses in art history, than you will have heard this story again and again. This (then infamous, now famous) work by Manet is recognized as the founding father of the Modern Art movement. This painting was laughed out of the running for inclusion in the Grand Salon of 1863, which is obviously now a laughed about matter of its own. It was Manet's untraditional way of painting and his shocking scene that changed the perception of what are could be. This was the first painting that I saw when I stepped into the Impressionist Exhibition space, and rightfully so when the history is taken in account. I have to say that it almost brought tears to my eyes. After seeing countless photographic reproductions of Manet's work, nothing was like seeing this painting in the real.
Claude Monet, Le Givre, 1880
There is only so much a photograph can translate. High-resolution photos will be able to show you color, texture (sometimes), and figural precision. There are ways that we have learned how to read a photo of a work of art that gives us an understanding of its aesthetic makeup. However, when you see the real work in person, like when I saw the paintings of Monet, you will realize that so much is lost in the photographic translation. Sometimes when studying art, one can become so distracted with what needs to be known about the artist, the history, the depiction, the style, etc. I knew these details of Monet and I generally liked his work, but when I saw a Monet in person - especially this one - I was astonished at the affect it had upon me. In the brilliance of the colors and the brushstrokes I found new appreciation for Monet.
Vincent Van Gogh, Self-Portrait, 1889
I already had much admiration for van Gogh before d'Orsay, but upon seeing his famous blue self-portrait that feeling was only heightened. People, taking pictures, shuffling in front of each other and so forth, surrounded the painting. There was a gap in between the crowd and the painting itself because taking a full-length picture requires taking a step back. Here is where I chose to step in and stick my head, to the annoyance of all the photo-takers. I stood and I stared, face to face with the image of van Gogh. The heavy emotion that transmitted from van Gogh's brush to the thick strokes of paint was clearly visible. I have never had a painting actually stare at me like the way his self-portrait did to me then. The noise in that one moment faded away as fell deeper and deeper into van Gogh's intensely painted eyes.