The Architecture

"The station is superb and looks like a Palais des beaux-arts..." wrote the painter Edouard Detaille in 1900. Eighty-six years later, his prophecy was fulfilled.

Great hall inside Musée d'Orsay © Ian C. Mills All Rights Reserved

The Gare d'Orsay's transformation into a museum was accomplished by the firm ACT-Architecture — composed of Renaud Bardon, Pierre Colboc and Jean-Paul Philippon. Their concept was chosen in 1979 by the president himself, out of the six proposals submitted.

The project's requirements stipulated that the design should respect Laloux's architecture while nonetheless reinterpreting it according to its new function. Their plan highlighted the great hall, using it as the main artery for visitors, and transformed the magnificent art nouveau glass awning into the museum's entrance.

The Musée d'Orsay has been organized into three levels: on the ground floor, galleries are distributed on either side of the central nave, which is overlooked by the terraces of the median level, these in turn opening up into additional exhibition galleries. The top floor is installed above the lobby, which covers the length of the Quai, and continues into the highest elevations of the former hotel, overlooking the rue de la Légion d'Honneur (formerly rue de Bellechasse).

The museum's specific exhibition spaces and different facilities are distributed throughout the three levels: the pavilion Amont, the glass walkway of the former station's western pinion, the museum restaurant (installed in the dining hall of the former hotel), the Café des Hauteurs, the bookshop and the auditorium.

Interior Design

The interior lay-out of the museum was conceived by a team of scenographers directed by the Italian architect and industrial designer, Gae (Gaetana) Aulenti. With Italo Rota, Piero Castiglioni (lighting consultant) and Richard Peduzzi (architectural consultant), Ms. Aulenti succeeded in creating a unified presentation within a large diversity of volumes, in particular by using a homogeneous stone covering for the floors and walls. This installation brings the large space of the former station down to size.

Aulenti's controversial interior design is not without its detractors, however. The Guides du Routard and others have denounced its monolithic features — such as the two enormous blockhouses in the back — as "pharaonism" and even "mussolinian" in style.

The author Norval White (Guide to the Architecture of Paris) proclaimed, "... the great steles that march down the nave ... have brought cries of 'Mesopotamian revival!' and other sarcasms." Andrew Ayers (The Architecture of Paris) wrote, "The overall effect is of a Vegas Valley-of-the-Kings, extremely ill at ease in its belle-époque setting."

To be fair, it should be noted that other controversial building projects in Paris — such as the Eiffel Tower, Pompidou Center, and I.M. Pei's glass pyramid at the Louvre — had also inspired protest when they were first introduced. The Musée d'Orsay, like the others, has nevertheless proven immensely popular with the public.

The museum's signpost system was conceived by B. Monguzzi and J. Widmer. As for the lighting, both natural and artificial light is used, in order to create the variations in intensity needed for the different works of art presented. Fortunately, the structure benefits greatly from its original glass canopy measuring 25,000 sq. meters (269,098 sq. ft., or 6.2 acres) in size, offering excellent illumination to the exhibit hall below.

The Collections

The Musée d'Orsay owns roughly 6,000 works of art (not including photographs), of which about 3,000 are on permanent exhibit at the discretion of its curators. The remainder are in storage, occasionally surfacing in temporary exhibits, or they are made available for loans to other museums.

	Olympia, by Edouard Monet (Jan. 23, 1832 - Apr. 30, 1883) Musée d'Orsay

Of the total pieces, there are 2,600 paintings (1,500 in storage) and 1,250 sculptures (500 in storage).

Works on Display

There are three floors of exhibits. On the ground floor, you will find Ingres' La Source, Millet's L'Angelus, the Barbizon school, Manet's Olympia, and other works of early impressionism.

Impressionism continues on the upper level, with Renoir's Le Moulin de la Galette, Manet's Déjeuner sur l'herbe, Degas' Racing at Longchamps, Monet's Cathedrals, van Gogh's Self-Portrait, and Whistler's Mother; there are also works by Gauguin and the Pont-Aven school, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, Cézanne, and Seurat.

Symbolism, naturalism, and art nouveau are represented on the middle level; the international art nouveau exhibit includes fabulous furniture and objets d'art as well as Koloman Moser's Paradise, an enticing design for stained glass.

Besides exhibiting astounding works, the Musée d'Orsay is a great place in which to spend an entire afternoon. Its restaurant and café are quite pleasant, and the bookstore and gift shop have an excellent selection.

More Facts and Figures

The Building

• Length without the awning: 173 meters (189 yards; 567'7")
• Length including awning: 188 meters (205-1/2 yards; 616'9")
• Breadth: 75 meters (82 yards; 246')

1,000-franc bond issued by the P-O railroad (1935)

The Hall under the Nave

• Length: 138 meters (150-3/4 yards; 452'9")
• Breadth: 40 meters (43-3/4 yards; 131')
• Height: 32 meters (35 yards; 104'11")

The Materials

• 12,000 metric tons of metallic structures
• 35,000 sq. meters (376,737 sq. ft.; 8.6 acres) of glass
• 30,000 sq. meters (322,917 sq. ft.; 7.4 acres) of Buxy (Burgundy) stone for the covering of floors and walls
• 1,600 staff rose casings in the nave

The Museum

• Used surface: 57,400 square meters (617,850 sq. ft.; 14.2 acres)
• Galleries of artwork presentations: 16,853 sq. meters (181,404 sq. ft.; 4.2 acres), in 80 separate galleries
• Temporary exhibition galleries: 1,837 sq. meters (19,773 sq. ft.; 0.45 acre)
• Cafés - restaurant: 1,200 sq. meters (12,916 sq. ft.)
• Auditorium: 570 sq. meters (6,135 sq. ft.), with 347 seats, three of which can take people in wheelchairs
• Visitors' services: 2,450 sq. meters (26,372 sq. ft.)
• Reserves: 3,000 sq. meters (32,292 sq. ft.)

Number of visitors

• Annual visitation of the museum:
• 2,871,661 average annual visitors over 30 years
• 2,929,282 visitors in 2005
• 3,439,832 visitors in 2015

Some Technical Data

• 1 million cubic meters (35,315,000 cu. ft.) of air treated each hour for air conditioning
• 40,000 acoustic resonators
• 7,500 kWh of installed electric power
• 2 generating sets
• 10 escalators
• 11 elevators and lifts

Supplemental Notes

Location

It can be somewhat confusing to a first-time tourist, but the portion of the quai which runs along the Seine River in front of the Musée d'Orsay is now called the Quai Anatole France. The section called Quai d'Orsay does not begin until one passes the Pont de la Concorde — roughly a block-and-a-half west of the museum.

There is no public access to the Museum through the doors along the quai. The main entrance is on the right side of the building (as seen from the river), on rue de la Légion d'Honneur — across from the Musée de la Légion d'Honneur.

Transport

Although the underground train platforms are no longer publicly accessible from within the museum, the tunnel which once served the P.-O. trains is now used by the RER-C (express métro line, run by SNCF), which connects the Musée d'Orsay station to the Gare d'Austerlitz and beyond (eastward); it also runs west and south along the Seine, culminating at Versailles.

About a dozen of the old tracks under the museum were adapted during the 1980s into a maintenance area and garage for the RER-C trains.

You can find the RER-C station entrance on the Quai Anatole France at the intersection with rue de la Légion d'Honneur. The entrance to the Solférino stop of the local métro system (line 12) is about two-and-a-half blocks southwest of the museum; there is no connecting underground passage between that station and the RER-C Musée d'Orsay station.

No-wait, Priority Access to the Museum

The Musée d'Orsay is the 7th most popular attraction in Paris, welcoming over 3 million visitors a year. During the prime tourist seasons (late March through October), it is not unusual for the admission line to wrap around the building and snake through the facing square. Average wait times can reach 90 minutes on busy days, for those who have not purchased a ticket or museum pass in advance.

	Breeze past the long lines of tourists, see more with unlimited visits!

By contrast, the Museums and Monuments Card provides priority access, bypassing all the lines. It offers unlimited visits to more than 60 locations in and near Paris — including the Musée d'Orsay and the Louvre, which is just across the Seine.

Cards are available with validity periods of 2, 4, or 6 days. Each card, encased in a plastic holder, is accompanied by a list of the participating attractions — along with address, phone number, hours of operation, and closest métro station(s). The card has no expiration date, thus one can purchase it well in advance of traveling to Paris, and activate it on any day desired.

For your convenience, Discover France offers these passes online for delivery to your home or office address, before you travel to Paris.

Art Links

Select Artist or Architect: Frédéric Bazille Pierre Bonnard Georges Braque Gustave Caillebotte Paul Cézanne Marc Chagall Gustave Courbet Honoré Daumier Edgar Degas Eugène Delacroix Paul Gauguin Jean-Aug.-Dom. Ingres Le Corbusier Fernand Leger Edouard Manet Henri Matisse Jean François Millet Claude Monet Pablo Picasso Camille Pissarro Pierre Auguste Renoir Auguste Rodin Henri Rousseau Georges Pierre Seurat Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Vincent van Gogh Select Art Period or Topic: Art Deco Art Nouveau Cubism Fauvism French Sculpture Impressionism Neoimpressionism Postimpressionism Realism Rococo Style Romanticism ------------------------- Intro: French Art, Architecture Pre-historic, Celtic, Roman Merovingian, Carolingian Romanesque Period Gothic Period Renaissance Period Baroque Period 18th Century 19th Century 20th Century ------------------------- Museums of France

1900-2013 – From Station to the Renovated Musée d'Orsay Flash slideshow featuring historic photos of the old railroad station, construction of the new museum, and a text narrative. An art project of the Cultural Institute, powered by Google. American Friends of the Musée d'Orsay (AFMO) A U.S. non-profit, tax-exempt organization created in 2011 to support the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie, strengthening the ties between the museums and Americans on both sides of the Atlantic. Art Database (searchable, in French only) The "Joconde" database is a catalogue of drawings, stamps, paintings, sculptures, photography and objects of art conserved in more than 60 museums throughout France. It contains details on more than 130,000 works, dating from the 7th century to the present, representing over 10,000 artists. Art Gallery Browse our Art Boutique to view fine art prints by more than a hundred French painters, as well as scenic travel posters, vintage French product banners, and many other colorful French themes. Save 20% on all purchases. Custom framing available. Edouard Manet Desktop Wallpapers Pascal Giroud offers a dozen 1024x768-pixel images of Manet's works, suitable for use as desktop wallpaper or screensavers. Includes such masterpieces as Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe, Olympia, and Un Bar aux Folies-Bergères. Musée d'Orsay Official web site of the Orsay Museum, located at 1, rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 75007 Paris. Museums of Paris Explore the rich collections of paintings, sculpture, and antiquities to be found in Paris' many museums. Reviews of all the must-see locations, plus links to other treasures in the City of Light.

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