Day 6: Musée d’Orsay
Musée d’Orsay; 10/24/25
The last morning in Paris was magical - the skies were clear and bright, with the kind of light that brings joy and wonder. It seems fitting that that our experience on the way to the Musée d'Orsay and the paintings of the Impressionists, with their paintings exploring light.
I'd been waiting all week for our visit to the Musée d'Orsay - we studied the Impressionists my freshman year of high school (and took a class trip to the Monet exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago) and, since knowing of the existence of this museum, I knew that I wanted to visit.
It wasn't just the art, but the building itself is a work of art worthy of admiration. We had an amazing tour led by our local guide Joelle (in front of the clock in the photo), whose depth of knowledge of the works in the museum gave me new insights into the artists that I thought that I already knew so much about. Including Renoir, who I had always liked, but had once sat in talk by an art history professor who held the firm opinion that he had only achieved the level of recognition that he had because his son was a famous director - I now have a new depth of understanding of him and several other artists of that era that somehow was more powerful standing in a building surrounded by their works.
The Musée d'Orsay was not only important to me because of my academic history, but also from a more pop culture side of things. I (and my cat) are Whovians (time travel seems particularly relevant here as I look back on the old photos and wonder what it was like to be in Paris when it wasn't filled with tourist) - and the episode that I will (and did, during lockdown) rearrange my life to watch involves The Doctor and Amy visiting the Musée d'Orsay and then Vincent and The Church at Auvers (no spoilers...). This was one of the last works on our tour and it seems ridiculous that I traveled across an ocean and waited for a week to see one painting from a television show, but there was great joy in finally being in this space that I had dreamed of for decades and seeing paintings (not just this one) that held great meaning.​
And it feels like this is a good place to stop because, as is fitting to say next to this painting, this tour and everyone I met along the way, definitely added to my pile of good things...
