I’d like to preface this by saying that I am no crazy art fanatic. What happened this morning at Musee D’Orsay made me wonder how anyone who’d been here wouldn’t be.
Today I lost my breath at the site of a Monet. Like literally lost my breath to Nympheus Blues (aka Water lilies) . I don’t even really like it that much. I’m not sure what it was exactly. I just felt overwhelmed at the thought that I had seen this very piece reproduced dozens of times before and I could literally reach out and touch it. Mugs, bed bath and beyod, aprons, door mats....Sounds silly, I know.
From there to the Degas. There is only one thing that got me through Art History and it was him. There is something about his ballerina’s that makes me feel soft and oddly sensitive. His bronze statues in the flesh are not what I Imagined. They are like the plastered paint on the impressionist canvas, thick and seemingly slathered on in chunks. Somehow they still remain delicate and feminine.
A slew of Van Goghs. It’s no wonder he is so adored. The colors are so vivid and while the mood may be somber in most, he makes you feel good either way. I was sad to see only a single Klimt, I had hoped it would one of the beautiful woman with vibrant gold tones but I searched and searched at no avail.
Renoirs most famous piece was at center stage today, Dance at Le moulin de la Galette. I had seen it in books before and it never did much for me, just too busy. In the flesh it was large and vibrant and mesmerizing. It’s Renoir’s real life snapshot of a courtyard in Montmartre. Having just been there yesterday, I felt much more connected than flipping a page in a textbook.
There was one piece of an artist I’d never heard of before. It was my favorite of the day. Portrait of Mademoiselle Carlier by Lucien Levy-dhurmer. I stared in a daze for a long while trying to understand her expression and hoping that I am capable of the same one. It doesn’t look like much in a photo because the truly impressive part was how bright it was. It literally glowed.
I could go on and on about my day at Musee D’Orsay but truth be told there are no words. You have to go. There are no fancy ropes separating you from the pieces and they are all one’s you will recognize. The largest collection of socially recognizable art I’ve ever seen by a long shot. They are the best of the best for a reason and the best $10 I’ve ever spent.
PS- I promise not to make the next post so sappy...but when sappy comes, sappy is what I've got :)
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