Musée d'Orsay in Paris

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Musee de Orsay, Paris

 

The Musee d’Orsay is one of Paris’ museums. It is located on the left bank of the Seine River. The museum is in the Gare d’Orsay, which is a former railway station built between 1898 and 1900. It was where the railways of southwestern France terminated until 1939 when the newer trains became too

long for the short platforms. The railway station was built for the Chemin de Fer de Paris a Orleans to

the Beaux-Arts design of architects Emile Bernard, Lucien Magne and Victor Laloux.

 

The triumvirate completed the project in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle. After 1939, the

building was used for suburban services. Part of the station was used as a mailing center during the Second World War. After which, it was used as a set for numerous films including Kafka’s The Trial adapted by Orson Welles. It was also used by the Renaud-Barrault Theatre Company during the rebuilding of the Hotel Drouot.

The Musee d’Orsay’s collection is mostly made up of French art pieces such as paintings, furniture, sculptures, furniture and photography from 1848 to 1915. The museum is known for its wide collection

of impressionist art by famous painters like Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas and Cezanne. Before Musee d’ Orsay opened, many of the art pieces were housed in the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume.