Color and Light

I am a huge Stephen Sondheim fan. (And for those who wondered about the undisclosed location where I kidnapped Rick for his birthday surprise, it was to go see "Side by Side by Sondheim" at the Michigan Shakespeare Festival!)

One of my favorite Sondheim musicals -- and one I'm looking forward to seeing this summer at Canada's Shaw Festival -- is "Sunday in the Park with George," a two-act musical in which Mandy Patinkin created the role of Georges Seurat, the great Impressionist painter. Since you already know I love Monet, it was pretty clear that the major museum on my itinerary would be Musee d'Orsay.

Housed in what used to be a train station which was designed for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 on Paris' right bank, the museum houses many of the most beautiful pieces of Impressionist art in the world (as well as from other periods). This massive clock overlooks the sculpture lobby.

Among the featured artists are Berthe Morrisot...

Vincent VanGogh...

Edgar Degas...

and of course, Monet (You can tell a Monet by the way he paints hay).

Color and light. Sondheim worked these words into one of his songs from "Sunday in the Park." The Musee d'Orsay is all about light. Take a look at the large windows that overlook the sculpture gallery.

And there's plenty of color, too, from the art on the wall to the school children in their red hats, learning about art.

They were well behaved and I loved they were learning about art.

The Art Nouveau section dazled me, with work by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Rene Lalique and others. The furniture was splendid.

Wouldn't this be a good art table? Large, gently curved, good storage...

There was also furniture from other periods, and I rather liked this table.

And some of the sculpture nearly took my breath away.


The lighting was just perfect.

There were pieces I loved (and for the life of me, can't remember the artists, though I'm sure when I hear them, I'll go, "Duh").

Especially this one...(Is it a Monet? It looks Monetish, but also Pissaroish...)

But one of the real thrills was to stand just inches away from paintings I'd seen in books all my life, like this Van Gogh.

I liked this one, too.

Can any of you guess why this may have been my favorite painting? I thought so!

I enjoyed a lovely lunch in the museum's restaurant, then stepped on the roof terrace for a look at another museum (one I'm saving for my next visit), the Louvre. (It was so large I couldn't handle it -- but you'll see another glimpse of it in a future post.)

When it came time to leave, I walked in the St. Germain des Pres district. After stopping for one of those decadent raspberry tarts, I headed home for our last evening. Along the way, I saw this florist shop, which captivated me.

(Aren't the petals on the ground an interesting touch?) Then there was this puppeteer. I cannot resist a puppeteer!

It was almost time for my last evening in Paris. But before we go there, I'll take you to some of the other sights I enjoyed -- the people and street scenes of Paris -- and to the flea markets that make me smile! So, come back in a day or two!