Paintings in the Musee d'Orsay

...is the Musée D'Orsay as a tourist destination in Paris. And rightly so, perhaps even more so. It has now been almost 25 years since the French converted an abandoned railway station into one of the leading museums in the world. Before you go, forget the French phrase book, they'll all speak English if you say it loud enough ;-), but what better way to prepare than to purchase a book on the painting in the D'Orsay, and review it for a week or two prior to departure. As a word of caution, there are numerous editions of this book, with different material, and even if the painting is in the book it does not mean it will be in the museum, as there are programs whereby they are lent to other museums for special programs. Americans, in particular, seem to make a bee-line to the Impressionists, and indeed, D'Orsay contains perhaps the world's most formidable collection. Some, like Renoir's "Bal du Moulin de la Galette" suffer from overexposure. Monet's waterlilies are essential as his Cathedrale de Rouen. The bulk of the paintings are non-Impressionist, and include an excellent selection of 19th Century realism. Even overworked, I remain a fan of Millet's "Les Glaneuses" (the Gleaners) which Agnes Varda developed into an excellent, thought-provoking movie. You don't "have" to go to Provence; but that would be a pity; there are over 30 painting of Paul Cézanne, and a number of Van Gogh's. There are also Seurats', Toulouse-Lautrecs' and Henri Rousseaus'. The vast majority of this book are quality reproductions of the paintings themselves. But there are also a number of 2-3 page essays on the period themes, and these include one on "Eclecticism and Realism," "Impressionism," "Post-Impressionism," "Naturalism and Symbolism," and "After 1900".) This is an essential book to obtain, even before you buy your air tickets to Paris. The anticipation of seeing the real painting at the end of the trip will help take your mind off the abuse the travel process has now become. It might be the only 5-star aspect of your trip.

Context: I'm not an academic or a scholar; I'm a regular guy who likes visiting museums when I travel and I wanted to do a little researach before I left. This book worked well for my daughter and I to determine which parts of the museum deserved the most time (on a short trip) and to get a better understanding of the works. I'm not qualified to evaluate it from an academic perspective, but as a layman it was exactly what we needed. I bought several museum books all at the same time and this was the best.

I was fortunate to be able to visit the Musee D'Orsay on my last trip to Paris. This book was filled with lovely photos of what the museum displays. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane of one of my favorite experiences.