Top 10 Facts about the Musée d’Orsay in Paris

By Daniel Vorndran – Wikimedia

Top 10 Facts about the Musée d’Orsay in Paris

One outstanding fact about this museum is that the building used to be a train station. Before we delve deeper into this fact, here is a little background of the museum.

Musée d’ Orsay is considered one of the most visited attractions in Paris.

Before the museum existed, the original building that stood in this place was Palais d’Orsay. It was built in 1810 but was burnt down in 1817.

After the Palace was destroyed, three architects were tasked to design and build the train terminus. One of the architects was Victor Laloux.

The Compagnie du Chemin de fer d’Orleans was used to welcome visitors from abroad back home. A challenge for the architects was fitting the design in the designated site.

To overcome the challenge, the lead architect, Victor Laloux used his creative skills.

He matched the exterior of the station with the environment by using a beautiful stone façade.

The building has served other purposes too like hold political meetings and banquets.

Here are more facts about Musee d’Orsay.

1. Musée d’Orsay was once a train station

By DrSocc – Wikimedia

The idea of a train station came about in 1900 when Paris planned to celebrate its 100^th anniversary.

There was a need to provide convenient transport for the people during the celebration.

About 50 million people attended the universal exhibition showcasing Paris achievements. The exhibition happened between April and November 1900.

With such a large number of people, the train station came in handy for the visitors.

Known as Gare d’Orsay, the train station was the first electrified urban rail terminal in the world.

75 years later, the train station was converted into a museum that is rich with the world’s history.

Inside you will find French art, paintings, furniture, sculptures, and photography.

2. It is home to an impressive collection from the 19^th century

Musee d’Orsay houses the most impressive collections of western art.

There are paintings, photographs, sculptures, decorative arts from the 19^th century to the 20^th century.

The museum has art from the most famous impressionist artists such as Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait, Gustave Courbet’s The Origin of the World, Edouard Manet’s Lunch on the Grass, and Renoir’s Bal du moulin de la Galette.

There are sculptures from famous artists like Degas’ The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer and the great works of Auguste Rodin.

Rodin was considered as the father of modern sculpture.

Musee d’Orsay hosts temporary exhibitions to showcase the best works of painters, sculptors, and photographers. Other genres such as cinematography and concerts are featured too.

3. The Architecture of the museum is unique

By Daniel Vorndran – Wikimedia

The exterior of the museum is a massive stone façade with a huge clock. It has retained its railway station look from the outside.

This impressive exterior does not disappoint when you step inside the museum. Its interior is as striking as the outside.

Italian architect, Gae Aulenti designed the interior of the museum. She was in charge of the internal arrangement, decoration, furniture and fittings of the museum.

The former hall in the station was turned into the main artery of the museum while the great glass canopy serves as the main entrance.

Natural light from large glass windows in the ceiling is used in the museum.

Lucien Magne, Emile Benard, and Victor Laloux were the three architects that designed this building. The building was finished in a record of 2 years.

The museum opened its doors to the in December 1986 by then-president, François Mitterrand.

4. There are several impressionist artists represented

Starry Night Arles by Vincent van Gogh – Wkimedia

A lot of the works displayed in this museum are from some of the greatest impressionists from the mid-19^th century to the 20^th century.

To view some of the best works of impressionism, Musee d’Orsay is the place to go to while in France.

The years between 1848 and 1914 saw a great turn around in the history of art.

A large number of paintings, decorative arts, sculptures and many artistic expressions such as Impressionism were borne during that period.

Musee d’Orsay came about to bridge the gap between the Louvre, and the National Museum of Modern Art at the Pompidou Centre.

These were the two main museums at that time. To admire the best works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir or Cézanne. The paintings from Seurat, Gauguin or Van Gogh, visit Musee d’Orsay.

5. Musee d’Orsay is massive

This museum is in a huge building with vast dimensions. Orsay Museum is 574 feet long and 246 wide.

The Central hall is 459 feet long, 131 feet wide and 105 feet high. This museum is considered to be a masterpiece of industrial architecture.

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.

6. The building was used for other purposes before becoming a museum

By Krzysztof Mizera – Wikimedia

As early as 1939, the Gare d’Orsay was no longer being used as a train station.

During the Second World War, the Orsay station was converted into a dispatch centre for the sending parcels to prisoners.

Then during the Liberation, it became a reception centre for prisoners. A plaque on the side of the museum building honours its use as a reception centre.

The building was used as a parking lot, then a shooting range, and later on as a theatre location and even at one point, it was a reception centre for prisoners of war.

In 1970, the building was set for demolition but was spared by Jacques Duhamel, the then Minister for Cultural Affairs.

He proposed the construction of a new hotel. A few years later the station was put on the supplementary list of Historic Monuments and finally listed in 1978.

7. You will the best view of Paris from the museum

D’Orsay Museum has the best views of Paris. Two strategic spots let you have endless views of the city of lights.

The first spot is on the second floor behind the great clock, where you will get a spectacular view of the Seine River.

The second view is from the terrace, located just above the Café des Hauteurs, on the last floor of the museum.

From the terrace, you will have an amazing view of the Seine River, its bridges, and the great monuments such as the Louvre Museum, or the Garnier Opera.

8. It took six months to display all the art in the museum

Due to its massive size and a large collection of impressionist art, the art curators needed time to perfectly put everything in its place.

The museum had more than 2,000 art pieces and about 600 sculptures among other historic artefacts.

It took 6 months to install all the exhibits and the museum opened its doors that same year in December 1986.

The various artistic movements represented include in Musee d’Orsay are academism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, and Art nouveau.

9. The building has plenty of glass

By Krzysztof Mizera – Wikimedia

The architects of Musée d’Orsay designed it to make good use of natural lights.

They, therefore, used at least 35,000 square meters of glass, through which the interior of the building is brightened by.

The glass used is large enough to occupy five football fields. Without the use of natural light, it would have been an enormous task to light up the entire museum.

10. This museum was inspired by three others

Before Musee d’Orsay came to be, the existing museums were running out of space for their art collection.

The National Museum of Modern Art had moved to a new location and could not take in all its former art collection.

Jeu de Paume museum, which exhibits France’s Impressionist art collection since 1947 was also overflowing.

The other museum was the Louvre also struggling with display space. About 75% of its artefacts were in storage.

This led to the need for a new museum to take the art collection from the mid-19^th century to the 20^th century.

That is when the French government converted Gare Orsay station to a museum.