Situated on the left bank of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the Musée d'Orsay was originally a railway station called Gare d'Orsay, built by Victor Laloux for the Orléans line and was inaugurated at the World's Fair on the 14th of July 1900 for the Paris World Exposition. At the station's opening, painter Edouard Detaille remarked: "The station is superb and looks like the Palais des Beaux Arts."
The Gare d'Orsay was considered a masterpiece of industrial architecture. But soon the platforms had become too short for the now much longer trains, and as early as 1939, the gare d'Orsay was out of use as a train station. Over time it was used as a parking lot, as a shooting stand, as a theatre location and even as a reception center for prisoners of war.
The station had been completely abandoned since 1961 when it was saved from demolition by then French President Pompidou. In 1978 his successor, President Giscard d'Estaing, decided to use the Gare d'Orsay as a museum for 19th and 20th century art. It was inaugurated in 1986 by then President Francois Mitterand.
Home to the largest collection of painting, sculpture, and decorative objects produced between 1848-1914, Musee d'Orsay has become one of Paris's most popular museums. Its original collection covers a permanent collection of works from Degas, Rodin, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, van Gogh and others. Today its impressionist and post-impressionist collection boasts 34 Manets, 86 Monets, 43 by Degas, 56 Cézannes, 46 Sisleys, 81 Renoirs, 24 Van Goghs and 24 Gauguins, among others. So one might say, Musee d'Orsay picks up where the Louvre leaves off, featuring French art from the mid 1800s to the 1st World War.
We lined up in the rain for more than an hour before we reached the entrance to the museum. It was a Tuesday, and despite the poor weather, there were a lot of visitors qeueing to get inside. At the time of our visit, the museum was undergoing renovation. But after almost two years of renovation works, the Musée d'Orsay will reopen its newly designed spaces this October. The Impressionist Gallery is being redesigned and part of the collection will be moved to the 5th floor. Temporary exhibition space in the Column Gallery will be provided. The hard-to-find-a-seat Café des Hauteurs behind the great clock will be turned into a catering area. But admission cost will remain the same at 8 euros, and visitors under 18 are free.
After our museum tour and lunch at a Japanese/Chinese restaurant a few walks from the museum, we decided to go back to Place d'Italie and do some last minute shopping at the newly erected mall on the avenue. It was still raining.
