Le Musee d'Orsay

Le Musee d'Orsay

This is the Musee d'Orsay, a well-known museum located at a grand railway station in Paris. The museum is famous for housing many paintings such as Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone and Claude Monet's Blue Water Lilies. The construction of the Musee d'Orsay originally began in the early 1900s as it was used a train station. However, after the station's abandonment, President Giscard d'Estaing decided to turn it into a museum in 1978. With the works of architects, Gae Aulenti, Victor Laloux, and Emile Bernard, the project was a success. The building was restored in 1979 and officially opened on November 29th, 1986. The Musee d'Orsay measures 35 feet in height, and holds a collection of 2,300 paintings of various different art forms, such as cubism and impressionism. The purpose of the project was to originally attract visitors to the 1900s World's Fair, however, once it became a museum, the purpose shifted into representing modern art. 

Unusual Facts: 

1. Some famous artists connected to the museum are Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste

   

   Pierre-Auguste Renoir

   Renoir. 
2. In the year 2013, the museum had over 3,467,320 visitors.
3. The Musee d'Orsay is ranked as the 10th most globally visited museum. 

   

   Claude Monet

   

   Vincent Van Gogh