The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, on the

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

of the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Berthe Morisot,

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French people, French Impressionism, Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, Print ...

, Renoir, Cézanne,

Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , ; ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough ...

, Sisley,

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

, and

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

. Many of these works were held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume prior to the museum's opening in 1986. It is one of the largest art museums in Europe. In 2022 the museum had 3.2 million visitors, up from 1.4 million in 2021. It was the sixth-most-visited art museum in the world in 2022, and second-most-visited art museum in France, after the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

History

The museum building was originally a railway station, Gare d'Orsay, located next to the Seine river. Built on the site of the Palais d'Orsay, its central location was convenient for commuting travelers. The station was constructed for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle to the design of three architects: Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard and Victor Laloux. The Gare d'Orsay design was considered to be an "anachronism". Since trains were such a modern innovation for the time architects and designers alike expected a building that would embody the modern traits of this new mode of transportation. Gare d'Orsay instead gained inspiration from the past for the concept of the facade to the point of masking the cutting-edge technology within. It was the terminus for the railways of southwestern France until 1939. By 1939 the station's short platforms had become unsuitable for the longer trains that had come to be used for mainline services. After 1939 it was used for suburban services and part of it became a mailing centre during World War II. It was then used as a set for several films, such as Kafka's '' The Trial'' adapted by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

, and as a haven for the

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (; born 11 May 1952 in Paris), known as Renaud, is a French singer-songwriter. With twenty-six albums to his credit, selling nearly twenty million copies, he is one of France's most popular singers. Several of h ...

– Barrault Theatre Company and for auctioneers, while the Hôtel Drouot was being rebuilt. In the 1970s work began on building a 1 km-long tunnel under the station as part of the creation of line C of the Réseau Express Régional with a new station under the old station. In 1970, permission was granted to demolish the station but Jacques Duhamel, Minister for Cultural Affairs, ruled against plans to build a new hotel in its stead. The station was put on the supplementary list of Historic Monuments and finally listed in 1978. The suggestion to turn the station into a museum came from the Directorate of the Museum of France. The idea was to build a museum that would bridge the gap between the

and the National Museum of Modern Art at the Georges Pompidou Centre. The plan was accepted by

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( ; ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously served as Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 19 ...

and a study was commissioned in 1974. In 1978, a competition was organized to design the new museum. ACT Architecture, a team of three young architects (Pierre Colboc, Renaud Bardon and Jean-Paul Philippon), were awarded the contract which involved creating of new floorspace on four floors. The construction work was carried out by

Bouygues Bouygues S.A. () is a French engineering group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext, Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip (stock market), blue chip in the ...

. In 1981, the Italian architect Gae Aulenti was chosen to design the interior including the internal arrangement, decoration, furniture and fittings of the museum. The arrangement of the galleries she designed was elaborate and inhabited the three main levels that are under the museum's barrel vault atrium. On the main level of the building, a central nave was formed by the surrounding stone structures that were previously the building's train platforms. The central nave's structures break up the immense sculpture and gallery spaces and provided more organized units for viewing the art. In July 1986, the museum was ready to receive its exhibits. It took 6 months to install the 2,000 or so paintings, 600 sculptures and other works. The museum officially opened in December 1986 by then-president

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

. At any time about 3,000 art pieces are on display within Musée d'Orsay. Within the museum is a 1:100 scale model created by Richard Peduzzi of an aerial view of Paris Opera and surrounding area. This model is encapsulated underneath glass flooring that viewers walk on as they proceed through the museum. This installation allows the viewers to understand the city planning of Paris at the time, which has made this attraction one of the most popular within the museum. Another exhibit within the museum is "A Passion for France: The Marlene and Spencer Hays Collection". This collection was donated by an Marlene and Spencer Hays, art collectors who reside in Texas and have been collecting art since the early 1970s. In 2016 the museum complied to keeping the collection of about 600 art pieces in one collection rather than dispersed throughout other exhibits. Since World War II, France has not been donated a collection of foreign art this large. The collection favors mostly post-impressionist works. Artists featured in this collection are Bonnard, Vuillard,

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, ...

Odilon Redon Odilon Redon (born Bertrand Redon; ; 20 April 18406 July 1916) was a French Symbolist painting, Symbolist draftsman, printmaker, and painter. Early in his career, both before and after fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, Redon worked almost exc ...

, Aristide Maillol, André Derain,

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

, and

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French Landscape art, landscape and Portraitist, portrait painter as well as a printmaking, printmaker in etching. A pivotal figure in ...

. To make room for the art that has been donated, the Musée d'Orsay is scheduled to undergo a radical transformation over the next decade, 2020 on. This remodel is funded in part by an anonymous US patron who donated €20 million to a building project known as ''Orsay Grand Ouvert'' (Orsay Wide Open). The gift was made via the American Friends of the Musées d'Orsay et de l'Orangerie.Gareth Harris (March 6, 2020)
Anonymous €20m donation kickstarts Musée d'Orsay transformation
'' The Art Newspaper''. The projected completion date is 2026, implementing new galleries and education opportunities to endorse a conductive experience. The square next to the museum displays six bronze allegorical sculptural groups in a row, originally produced for the : * ''South America'' by Aimé Millet * ''Asia'' by Alexandre Falguière * ''Oceania'' by Mathurin Moreau * ''Europe'' by Alexandre Schoenewerk * ''North America'' by Ernest-Eugène Hiolle * ''Africa'' by Eugène Delaplanche

Collection

Paintings: major painters and works represented

* Frédéric Bazille – 6 paintings including '' The Family Reunion'', '' The Improvised Field Hospital'', '' The Pink Dress'', '' Studio in Rue de La Condamine'' *

Cecilia Beaux Eliza Cecilia Beaux (May 1, 1855 – September 17, 1942) was an American artist and the first woman to teach art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Known for her elegant and sensitive portraits of friends, relatives, and Gilded Age p ...

– ''Sita and Sarita (Jeune Fille au Chat)'' *

Rosa Bonheur Rosa Bonheur (born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; 16 March 1822 – 25 May 1899) was a French artist known best as a painter of animals (animalière). She also made sculptures in a Realism (arts), realist style. Her paintings include ''Ploughing in the N ...

- '' Ploughing in the Nivernais'' * Pierre Bonnard – 60 paintings including ''The Chequered Blouse'' * Eugène Boudin – 33 paintings including ''Trouville Beach'' *

William-Adolphe Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French Academic art, academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classicism, classical subjects, with a ...

– 12 paintings including ''The Birth of Venus'', '' La Danse'', '' Dante and Virgil'' * Louise Catherine Breslau - 4 paintings including '' Portrait of Henry Davison'' *

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...

– ''

The Birth of Venus ''The Birth of Venus'' ( ) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably executed in the mid-1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus (mythology), Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea ful ...

'', ''The Death of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta'' * Gustave Caillebotte – 7 paintings including '' The Floor Scrapers'', '' Vue de toits (Effet de neige)'' * Eugène Carrière – 86 paintings including ''The Painting Family'', ''The Sick Child'', ''Intimacy'' *

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh), North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, whe ...

– 1 painting *

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

– 56 paintings including ''Apples and Oranges'', '' The Hanged Man's House'', '' The Card Players'', '' Portrait of Gustave Geffroy'' *

Théodore Chassériau Théodore Chassériau (; ; September 20, 1819 – October 8, 1856) was a Dominican-born French Romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to A ...

– 5 paintings (the main collection of his paintings is in the

) *

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (; 14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Ar ...

– ''Young Girls by the Seaside'', ''The Young Mother also known as Charity'', ''View on the Château de Versailles and the Orangerie'' *

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...

– 48 paintings including '' The Artist's Studio'', '' A Burial at Ornans'', ''Young Man Sitting'', , '' Le ruisseau noir'', '' Still-Life with Fruit'', '' The Wave'', '' The Wounded Man'' *

– 32 paintings (the main collection of his paintings is in the

) including ''A Morning. The Dance of the Nymphs'' * Henri-Edmond Cross – 10 paintings including ''The Cypresses in Cagnes'' * Leon Dabo – 1 paintings ''Moore Park'' * Henri-Camille Danger - ''Fleau!'' *

Charles-François Daubigny Charles-François Daubigny ( , , ; 15 February 181719 February 1878) was a French painter, one of the members of the Barbizon school, and is considered an important precursor of impressionism. He was also a prolific printmaker, mostly in etching ...

- '' The Harvest'' *

Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808 – February 10 or 11, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the July Revolution, Revolution of 1830 ...

– 8 paintings including '' The Laundress'' *

– 43 works including paintings such as ''The Parade'', also known as ''Race Horses in front of the Tribunes'', The ''Bellelli Family'', ''The Tub'', ''Portrait of Édouard Manet'', '' Portraits, At the Stock Exchange'', '' L'Absinthe'', and pastels like '' Café-Concert at Les Ambassadeurs'' and '' Les Choristes'' * Alfred Dehodencq - '' Boabdil's Farewell to Granada'' *

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...

– 5 paintings (the main collection of his paintings is in the

) *

– ''Portrait of the Artist Aged Eighteen'', ''Princess Maleine's Minuet'' or ''Marthe Playing the Piano'', ''The Green Trees or Beech Trees in Kerduel'', ''October Night'' (panel for the decoration of a girl's room), '' Homage to Cézanne'' * André Derain – ''Charing Cross Bridge'', also known as ''Westminster Bridge'' * Édouard Detaille – ''The Dream'' *

Albert Edelfelt Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish Painting, painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realism (arts), Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visib ...

- '' Pasteur's portrait by Edelfelt'' * Henri Fantin-Latour - '' Around the Piano'', '' A Studio at Les Batignolles'' *

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

– 24 paintings including '' Arearea'', '' Tahitian Women on the Beach'' *

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (; 11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academic painting, academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living art ...

– ''Portrait of the Baroness Nathaniel de Rothschild'', ''Reception of Condé in Versailles'', ''La Comtesse de Keller'', '' The Cock Fight'', ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

'' *

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

– 24 paintings including ''L'Arlésienne'', '' Bedroom in Arles'', ''Self Portrait'', portrait of his friend Eugène Boch, ''The Siesta'', '' The Church at Auvers'', ''View from the Chevet'', ''The Italian Woman'', '' Starry Night'', '' Portrait of Dr. Gachet'', '' Doctor Gachet's Garden in Auvers'', '' Imperial Fritillaries in a Copper Vase'', '' Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Rémy'', ''

Self Portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

'' * Armand Guillaumin – 44 paintings * Ferdinand Hodler – ''Der Holzfäller'' (The Woodcutter) * Winslow Homer - ''Summer Night'' *

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...

– 4 paintings (the main collection of his paintings is in the

) including '' The Source'' * Eugène Jansson – ''Proletarian Lodgings'' * Johan Barthold Jongkind – 9 paintings * Gustav Klimt – 1 painting * Maximilien Luce - '' The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame'' *

– 34 paintings including '' Olympia'', ''The Balcony'', '' Berthe Morisot With a Bouquet of Violets'', '' The Luncheon on the Grass'', '' The Fifer'', '' The Reading'' *

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

- '' Luxe, Calme et Volupté'' *

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6January 1832 – 23January 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravings illustrati ...

- Master of Imagination collection * Jean-François Millet – 27 paintings including ''The Angelus'', ''Spring'', '' The Gleaners'' *

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...

– 2 paintings *

– 86 paintings (another main collection of his paintings is in the Musée Marmottan Monet) including ''The Saint-Lazare Station'', The ''Rue Montorgueil in Paris. Celebration of 30 June 1878'', ''Wind Effect, Series of The Poplars'', ''Rouen Cathedral. Harmony in Blue'', ''Blue Water Lilies'', '' Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe'', '' Haystacks'', '' The Magpie'', '' Women in the Garden'' *

Gustave Moreau Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism ...

– 8 paintings including '' L'Apparition'' * Berthe Morisot – 9 paintings * Henri-Paul Motte - '' The Fiancée of Belus'' *

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( ; ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work ''The Scream'' has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inher ...

– 1 painting * Henri Ottmann - '' The Luxembourg Station in Brussels'' * Camille Pissarro – 46 paintings including ''White Frost'' *

– 106 paintings including ''Caliban'' *

Henri Regnault Alexandre Georges Henri Regnault (31 October 1843 – 19 January 1871) was a French painter. Biography Regnault was born in Paris, the son of Henri Victor Regnault. On leaving school he successively entered the studios of Antoine Montfort, Lo ...

- '' Summary Execution under the Moorish Kings of Granada'' *

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

– 81 paintings including '' Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre'', '' The Bathers'', '' Dance in the City'', '' Dance in the Country'', '' Frédéric Bazille at his Easel'', '' Girls at the Piano'', '' The Swing'' *

Henri Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Gug ...

– 3 paintings *

Théo van Rysselberghe Théophile "Théo" van Rysselberghe (23 November 1862 – 13 December 1926) was a Belgian Neo-impressionism, neo-impressionist Painting, painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the twentieth century. Bi ...

– 6 paintings * Paul Sérusier – ''The Talisman, the Aven River at the Bois d'Amour'' * Georges Seurat – 19 paintings including ''The Circus'' * Paul Signac – 16 paintings including ''Women at the Well'' *

Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedic ...

– 46 paintings including ''Inondation at Port-Marly'' *

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Count, ''Comte'' Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator whose immersion in the colour ...

– 18 paintings including '' La Toilette'' *

Félix Vallotton Félix Édouard Vallotton (; December 28, 1865December 29, 1925) was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as '. He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portra ...

– ''Misia at Her Dressing Table'' *

Édouard Vuillard Jean-Édouard Vuillard (; 11 November 186821 June 1940) was a French painter, decorative artist, and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, Vuillard was a member of the avant garde artistic group Les Nabis, creating paintings that assembled areas ...

– 70 paintings *

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

– 3 paintings including ''Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother'', also known as ''

Whistler's Mother ''Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1'', best known under its colloquial name ''Whistler's Mother'' or ''Portrait of Artist's Mother'', is a painting in oils on canvas created by the American-born painter James McNeill Whistler in 1871. The sub ...

Sculptures

Sculpture was in high demand in the 19th century and became widely used as a way to display a person's social and political standings. The style and ideology represented by many of the sculptures were out of fashion by the mid-20th century, and the sculptures were put into storage and no longer displayed. It wasn't until the conversion of the Orsay railway station into the Musée d'Orsay museum in the 1970s that many sculptures from the 19th century were placed on exhibit again. The substantial nave inside the new museum offered a perfect area for the display of sculptures. During the grand opening in December 1986 of the museum, 1,200 sculptures were present, brought in from collections such as

the Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, state loans, and Musée du Luxembourg. The museum also obtained more than 200 sculptures before opening though donations of art connoisseurs, the lineage of artists, and people in support of the Musée d'Orsay. Since the grand opening in 1986 the museum has collected works from exchanges that other museums or institutions once showcased such as '' Nature Unveiling Herself Before Science'' by Louis-Ernest Barrias that was initially commissioned for Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, as well as ''The Thinker'' and ''

The Gates of Hell ''The Gates of Hell'' () is a monumental bronze sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from the '' Inferno'', the first section of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. It stands at 6 metres high, 4&nb ...

'' by

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

. The museum also purchases specific works to fill gaps and finish the collections already in the museum such as one of the panels of ''Be Mysterious'' by

, the full set of

's ''Célébrités du Juste Milieu'', and ''Maturity'' by

Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...

. There are currently more than 2,200 sculptures in the Musée d'Orsay. Major sculptors represented in the collection include Alfred Barye, François Rude, Jules Cavelier,

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (; 11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Life Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpe ...

, Émile-Coriolan Guillemin,

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

, Aristide Maillol and

Other works

It also holds collections of: *architecture and decorative arts *photography

Selected collection highlights

File:Eugène Delacroix - The Lion Hunt - Google Art Project.jpg,

, '' The Lion Hunt'', c. 1854 File:Théodore Chassériau - Tepidarium - Google Art Project.jpg,

, ''Tepidarium'', 1853 File:JEAN AUGUSTE DOMINIQUE INGRES - El Manantial (Museo de Orsay, París, 1820-56. Óleo sobre lienzo, 163 x 80 cm).jpg,

, '' The Source'', 1856 File:Jean-François Millet - Gleaners - Google Art Project.jpg, Jean-François Millet, '' The Gleaners'', 1857 File:Edouard Manet - Olympia - Google Art Project 3.jpg,

, '' Olympia'', 1863 File:Monet dejeunersurlherbe.jpg,

, '' Le déjeuner sur l'herbe'', (right section), includes

, 1865-1866 File:Paul Cézanne 127.jpg,

, ''Portrait of Achille Emperaire'', 1868 File:Boudin BathersTrouville 1869.jpg, Eugène Boudin, ''Bathers on the Beach at Trouville'', 1869 File:Whistlers Mother high res.jpg,

, ''

'', 1871 File:Gustave Caillebotte - The Floor Planers - Google Art Project.jpg, Gustave Caillebotte, '' Les raboteurs de parquet (The Floor Scrapers)'', 1875 File:EDGAR DEGAS - En un café o La Absenta (Museo de Orsay, París, 1873. Óleo sobre lienzo, 92 x 68.5 cm).jpg,

, '' L'Absinthe'', 1876 File:Pierre Auguste Renoir - Country Dance - Google Art Project.jpg,

, '' Dance in the Country'' ('' Aline Charigot and Paul Lhote''), 1883 File:Serusier - the talisman.JPG, Paul Sérusier, '' The Talisman/Le Talisman'', 1888 File:Vincent van Gogh - Self-Portrait - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Self-portrait'' (1889) by

File:Vincent van Gogh - The Church in Auvers-sur-Oise, View from the Chevet - Google Art Project.jpg,

, '' The Church at Auvers'', 1890 File:Paul Gauguin 056.jpg,

, '' Tahitian Women on the Beach'', 1891 File:Georges Seurat - The Circus - Google Art Project.jpg, Georges Seurat, '' The Circus'', 1891 File:Paul Gauguin, 1894, Oviri (Sauvage), partially glazed stoneware, 75 x 19 x 27 cm, Musée d'Orsay, Paris.jpg,

, '' Oviri (Sauvage)'', 1894 File:Georges Lacombe, 1894, 1896, L'Existence, carved wood (Bas-relief en bois de noyer), 68.5 x 141.5 x 6 cm, Musée d'Orsay, Paris. DSC09000.jpg, Georges Lacombe, ''L'Existence'', 1894–1896 File:Albert Lebourg, before 1918, Paris, l'écluse de la Monnaie. Soleil d'hiver, oil on canvas, 81.5 x 115.5 cm, Musée d'Orsay, Paris..jpg, Albert Lebourg, ''Paris, l'écluse de la Monnaie. Soleil d'hiver'' File:Rippl Female with Flower 1891.jpg, József Rippl-Rónai, ''Female with Flower'', 1891 File:Breslau - Henry Davison.jpg, Louise Catherine Breslau, ''Portrait of Henry Davison'', 1880 File:Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida - La vuelta de la pesca.jpg, Joaquín Sorolla, ''La Vuelta de la Pesca'', 1894 File:Afrique Eugène Delaplanche musée d'Orsay RF3746.jpg, Eugène Delaplanche, ''Africa'', 1878

Management

The Directors have been: * Françoise Cachin: 1986 – 1994 * Henri Loyrette: 1994 – 2001 * Serge Lemoine: 2001 – 2008 * Guy Cogeval: March 2008 – March 2017 *

Laurence des Cars Laurence des Cars (born Laurence Élisabeth de Pérusse des Cars on 13 June 1966) is a French museum curator and art historian. Since September 2021, she has served as director of the Louvre Museum, having previously headed the Musée d'Orsay an ...

: March 2017 – September 2021 * Christophe Leribault: October 2021 – present

References

External links

*
Musée d’Orsay - The Parisian Guide

Virtual tour of the Musée d'Orsay
provided by

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world, operated by Google. It utilizes high-re ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musee D'orsay Railway stations in France opened in 1900 Orsay, Musee d' Orsay, Musee d' 1986 establishments in France Repurposed railway stations in Europe Buildings and structures in the 7th arrondissement of Paris Art Nouveau collections National museums of France