 Musée de l'Orangerie entrance | |
 Interactive fullscreen map | |
| Established | 1852 |
|---|---|
| Location | Place de la Concorde 75001 Paris France |
| Coordinates | 48°51′50″N2°19′21″E / 48.86384535°N 2.32253834°E /48.86384535; 2.32253834 |
| Type | Art museum (Impressionist andPost-Impressionist paintings) |
| Director | Marie-Paule Vial |
| Public transit access | Concorde |
| Website | musee-orangerie.fr |
TheMusée de l'Orangerie (English:Orangery Museum) is anart gallery ofImpressionist andPost-Impressionist paintings located in the west corner of theTuileries Garden next to thePlace de la Concorde inParis. The museum is most famous as the permanent home of eight largeWater Lilies murals byClaude Monet, and also contains works byPaul Cézanne,Henri Matisse,Amedeo Modigliani,Pablo Picasso,Pierre-Auguste Renoir,Henri Rousseau,Alfred Sisley,Chaïm Soutine,Maurice Utrillo, and others.[1]
The gallery is on the bank of theSeine in the oldorangery of theTuileries Palace on thePlace de la Concorde near theConcorde metro station and not far from theLouvre and theMusee d'Orsay.
Napoleon III had the Orangerie built in 1852, to store the citrus trees of theTuileries garden from the cold in the winter.[2] The building was built by architect Firmin Bourgeois (1786–1853). Bourgeois built the Orangerie out of glass on the (south) Seine side to allow light to the trees but the opposite (north) side is almost completely windowless to protect the citrus trees from the cold winds. Before the Orangerie was built, the trees were stored in the Grande Galerie of theLouvre. The main entrances on the east and west side of the building were decorated by architectLouis Visconti (1791–1853) who is also known for his renovations on theLouvre. The columns located at the doors are topped by triangular pediments that were sculpted by Charles Gallois-Poignant. The tops of the columns represent cornucopias, plants and ears of corn that relate to the building's agricultural function. After the Fall of the Empire in 1870 and the fire at theTuileries Palace in 1871, the Orangerie became a property of the State, which continued to use the Orangerie in its original function as well as for public events such as music concerts, art expositions, contests and dog shows until 1922.[2]
AfterWorld War I, changes came to the Orangerie. In 1921, the State gave the building to the Under-Secretariat of State for Fine Arts along with another building, theJeu de Paume. The goal for these two buildings was to provide a space for living artists to display their works.[3] At the time,Claude Monet (1840–1926) was paintinga series ofWater Lilies (Nymphéas) paintings for the State that were destined for another museum, theMusée Rodin. The President of the Council,Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929), wanted the paintings placed in the Orangerie instead.
TheWater Lilies donation to the Orangerie was finalized in 1922. Monet helped architectCamille Lefèvre with the architectural design in which eight panels, each two metres high and spanning 91 metres in length, are arranged in two oval rooms which form theinfinity symbol. Monet also required skylights for observing the paintings in natural light.[1] Due to the east to west orientation of the building the rooms are in the path of the Sun, which stretches alongthe same axis as theArc de Triomphe to theLouvre. Originally, the museum was inaugurated on 17 May 1927 as theMusée Claude Monet, a few months after the artist's death. It was then annexed into theMusée du Luxembourg and formally renamed theMusée National de l'Orangerie des Tuileries.[3]
The Orangerie was joined with the Louvre in 1930. The western half of the Orangerie was dedicated to temporary exhibitions for the Louvre and other national museums in France. Each year, the Orangerie hosted a variety of exhibitions. From 1930 to 1933, the Orangerie hosted an exhibition onImpressionism. In 1934, the exhibitionPeintres de la realité (Painters of Reality) was dedicated to the 17th century and became famous. In 1936, the exhibitionRubens et son temps (Rubens and his Age) attracted a million visitors to the museum. There was an entire exhibition dedicated toDegas in 1937, titled in his name. In 1942, there was an exhibition dedicated entirely toArno Breker, who was an official artist of theThird Reich and who studied inFrance. In 1946, after the end ofWorld War II, many masterpieces from private collections were recovered inGermany by the French Commission for Art Recovery and theMonuments Men and they were displayed in the Orangerie.[4] The Orangerie and theJeu de Paume were allied with the Paintings Department of the Louvre. TheRéunion des Musées Nationaux organized successful exhibitions at the Orangerie between 1946 and 1960. The building of theGaleries Nationales du Grand Palais in 1964 was due to the success of the exhibitions of the Orangerie.[4]
TheJean Walter andPaul Guillaume collections were acquired in 1959 and 1963 respectively. Domenica Walter (1898–1977) was the widow of both Paul Guillaume (1891–1934) and Jean Walter (1883–1957). Paul Guillaume was an art dealer and his desire was to create a museum of French modern art that would be open to the public.[1] When the State offered to show this collection at the Orangerie after his death, Domenica agreed. Olivier Lahalled (1960–1965) executed the renovation project to accommodate the new acquisition. The existing exhibition galleries were knocked down and two levels were added to the building. A staircase with a banister was designed by Raymond Subes (1893–1970) which replaced the entrance to theWater Lilies paintings and led to rooms that displayed the new collection. In 1966, the collection was publicly presented and inaugurated by the Minister of Culture,André Malraux, however, Domenica officially owned the paintings until her death in 1977.[5] There was a third renovation project conducted between 1978 and 1984 to consolidate the buildings, refurbish the rooms and permanently house the collection which was given to the Orangerie after Domenica's death. The Orangerie then became separate from the administration of theLouvre and theJeu de Paume, whose impressionist paintings would be destined for the futureMusée d'Orsay.[5]
The most recent renovation was made by Olivier Brochet between 2000 and 2006. The rooms that were previously constructed on two levels were knocked down and natural light was restored to theWater Lilies.[6] In order to display the Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collection, rooms were dug out of the basement level. Temporary exhibition spaces, an auditorium, an education space and a library were also created. The renovations were delayed and changed after the discovery of remains of theLouis XIII wall which was constructed in 1566 to protect theTuileries Palace. The museum was reopened on 17 May 2006.
In 2010 the Orangerie and theMusée d'Orsay were linked administratively under the Établissement public des musées d'Orsay et de l'Orangerie – Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (EPMO). On occasion, the Orangerie still hosts dance and piano concerts and other events in the restoredWater Lilies gallery.[6]
The Musée de l'Orangerie is the main story point of the 2000 French adventure PC gameMonet: The Mystery of the Orangery.
The art gallery, specifically theWater Lilies paintings, was featured inWoody Allen's 2011 filmMidnight in Paris andMia Hansen-Løve's 2022 filmOne Fine Morning.[7]
The official site of the Orangerie presents a full historical timeline.[8]
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