experience: the musée d'orsay

^a photo i took from the top of orsay, looking out toward the seine

my six hours spent at the musée d'orsay was hands down one of my favorite things i've done in paris so far. i left utterly moved by the artwork--somber, even.

the musée d'orsay houses one of the most famous collections of impressionism in the world. we're talking ROOMS full of monet, manet, renoir, and van gogh. of course, it is impossible to put into words the sort of things evoked from an afternoon staring at such brilliant work. i don't even know where to start...

manet's colors and strokes are just beautiful. one of renoir's paintings gave me chills and, i'm not ashamed to admit, almost moved me to tears. i was sad to leave it behind in the museum. van goh's work broke my heart. and filled it up. at the same time.

i'm taking a bus to amsterdam nextweek almost exclusively to visit the van gogh museum [an entiiiire museum of JUST his work]. i can't even tell you how excited i am about it. i don't think i've ever seen an artist paint more of themselves into their work than van gogh. i got to see "starry night over the rhone," [which is similiar to, but different than, the infamous "starry night"]. it's another one that left me with chills. gah, i just can't explain what it was like sitting there with all of this artwork staring back at me. it reminded me of the first time i ever saw a van gogh and monet--during my first trip to new york city when i was 16. sets.my.heart.on.FIRE.

one artist who totally hit me out of nowhere was edgar degas. his work was INCREDIBLE. his perspective was so intersting to me, and i fell in love with his bronze/sculture work. i'm absolutely his newest biggest-fan. =]

i stayed at the museum [literally] until they kicked me out. the funny thing? i only got to see one wing of the building! [the impressionist wing, as you could reasonably conclude...] i spent SIX HOURS in essentially four rooms. i can't even imagine how long it's going to take me to get through the entire louvre...

in any case, i left the museum at 6pm and climbed up on a ledge out near the street to take a nap in the sun. people were scattered about eating, sleeping, resting, etc. a really talented oboist was performing nearby and directly below the ledge i was sitting at was a small bistro. needless to say, the sound of a lovely oboe and the steady sound of dinner conversations in french lulled me to sleep rather quickly. =] i woke up about a half hour later and went for a walk on the seine river. it never gets old.

anyway. i could keep up these silly ramblings forever... i'll stop and try to show you a few pictures! i didn't take many because i was a bit preoccupied, but here's a taste...

^monet
<--monet
<--van gogh
<--van gogh

^an interior view of the museum