Les Musées de Paris

The Musée de Louvre

This past week in Paris we have been to two different museums - the Musée de Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay. The Louvre was overwhelmingly large, and I felt at a loss. We decided to see the paintings first, since that’s what I thought I wanted to see the most. However, I found myself getting bored quickly. Since the museum only holds paintings from the 15^th to the early 19^th centuries, many of the pieces focus on either Christian subjects or Greek mythology. Dad loved these paintings and I think he got the most out of seeing them. The one thing I found impressive about these paintings, as repetitious as they were in subject matter, was the amount of skill that the artists had to paint such enormous works of art without any kind of guide.

A statue in the Egyptian exhibit at the Louvre - the Deity Horus



After we had stopped for a short coffee break, we decided to see the Egyptian and Grecian exhibits. I enjoyed these much more. I found the age of the artefacts astonishing especially considering their impeccable condition. I was especially delighted by the Egyptian section. The various remnants of ruins, sphinxes, vases and household items was absolutely fascinating. Another thing that I liked about the museum was seeing the highly decorated and ornamented rooms that were at one time occupied by royalty. However, one thing that I found about the Louvre was that the exhibits were so extensive that I got tired of them after a period of time. We spent the entire afternoon at the Louvre, and I would definitely say that we got our money’s worth.

The inside of the Musée d'Orsay

The other museum we saw was the Musée d’Orsay. This was one of the things that Josh wanted to do while we were in Paris because it came highly recommended by his colleagues. I was unsure of how I would find it. Well, I never should’ve worried because I instantly fell in love with this museum. They are famous for their extensive collection of Impressionist works, which is one of the eras that I find appealing. From Monet and Sisley to Debussy and Ravel, I love this brief era in history.

One of the styles I enjoyed seeing was Pointillism. I would certainly not have the patience to paint all those little dots, especially in some of the large works that we saw. I also loved seeing the Art Nouveau and Art Deco exhibits which included not only paintings, but furniture and décor. Upon wandering through these exhibits, I have decided that I would like to collect items from these two styles and perhaps decorate my future home with them. I think Josh’s colleagues made a very good recommendation, since I enjoyed the Musée d’Orsay much more than the Musé e de Louvre. I only wish that Canada would make the same efforts to encourage the arts as Europe.