Musée de l’Orangerie
27/01
The l’Orangerie doesn’t have an enormous collection like the Louvre or d’Orsay.
It’s a small gem of a museum tucked away in the Tuileries garden.
The space is beautiful, airy and brightly lit – here you’ll find Monet’s Water Lilies, eight paintings in two curved rooms bathed in direct diffused sunlight.
But don’t just go for the Water Lilies, on the lower level is the magnificent collection of John Walter and Paul Guillaume; the collection consists of pieces from Picasso, Renoir, Cézanne and other impressionists and post-impressionists.
An important patron of art, Guillaume in his time was considered an expert in African Art; he had a nice collection of African art, and collaborated and wrote extensively about African Art.
John Walter was the man Guillaume’s widow Domenica married.
The personal drama surrounding the collection in itself is fascinating…
Guillaume died under suspicious circumstances and Domenica his widow would later be accused of his murder, but the charges were eventually dropped and she donated the collection to the government (after she sold off the pieces she deemed too avant-garde).
The Orangerie was my favourite of all the museums I visited in Paris; I discovered the beautiful pastel paintings of Marie Laurencin, so elegant and feminine.
The tranquility of the Monet exhibition, even with all those other people, feels so serene and welcoming.
Here’s a little video I shot at the museum, the music is Paris by Yael Naim (best watched in HD for better viewing experience)
