MUSEE D'ORSAY

Orsay train station was originally completed in 1900. After it was no longer needed as a train station, it became a mail center during World War II, and then a welcome center for liberated prisoners after the war. The station was finally closed in 1973.

In 1975, the station was threatened with demolition to make way for construction of a new hotel. However, unlike the tragedy of the destruction of New York's historic Pennsylvania Station, Orsay survived. It was renovated and restored and reopened as a museum in 1986. Its interior is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, and the galleries of impressionist paintings are unrivaled in the world.

While looking at the clock and the main entrance, my thoughts drifted back in time. How many people passed through this doorway on the brink of a new life? I thought of the countless thousands who watched this clock with anticipation or anxiety .... the minutes ticking by signaling either the eminent arrival or departure of loved ones.

This painting is titled, "Roman Decadence". I want to lay around doing nothing on a huge bed, draped with silk, drinking wine and eating fruit with all the beautiful people. Why don't I ever get invited to these kinds of parties?!?!

This sculpture is one a three made from both marble and bronze. The multimedia effect is stunning.

These cute little tykes prove you're never too young to start learning to appreciate art.

During our visit we saw a special exhibition of paintings by Eugene Jansson (1862-1915). He lived his whole life in Stockholm and painted breathtakingly beautiful panoramas of the city. (I regret not taking any photos of the panoramas. However, you can see them on the Orsay web site.)

After 1904 he turned his attention to painting another form of beauty, the male nude. Both his coming out as a gay man and his paintings caused quite a sensation.

Because many of the photos from the Swedish navy baths on which Jansson based his paintings have survived and were on display, the exhibition offered a rare glimpse into the artistic process.