Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, France

The Musée de l'Orangerie is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. Though most famous for being the permanent home for eight Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet, the museum also contains works by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Rousseau, Alfred Sisley, Chaim Soutine, and Maurice Utrillo, among others.

the Orangerie was originally built in 1852 by the architect Firmin Bourgeois and completed by his successor, Ludovico Visconti, to shelter the orange trees of the garden of the Tuileries. Used by the Third Republic in the nineteenth century as deposit for goods, an examination room, and place of lodging for mobilized soldiers, it also served to house sporting, musical, and patriotic events. Additionally, it was a place to display exhibitions of industry, animals, plants, as well as rare displays of painting.

User Reviews

Paul Evans (2 years ago)
Absolutely fantastic gallery in the shadows of the huge iconic museums. Make a visit, if not just to see Monet's waterlilies in the two oval rooms. Arrive when it opens to ensure you can stand back and admire them from every angle, near and far - they're incredible! The gallery's collection has many other fantastic works and temporary exhibitions.

Chandni Ghosh (2 years ago)
I'm so happy to visit this museum. It's like dreams come true. Can spend hours before Monet's Willow tree and Lily pond. So beautiful. Huge display. Except Monet's work, there are so many world famous paintings. art enthusiasts can get glimpse of work of PierreAuguste Renoir and Paul Cezanne.

Lorenzo (2 years ago)
After what I admit no research, I was expecting it to be focused only on Monet. I was positively surprised of the amount of well known artists they had in the lower floor. Varying from impressionists, fauve and cubists (Cezanne, Picasso, Modigliani..) Really enjoyed it and the audio guide (for a 5€ fee) was worth it to give the paintings their context. A lot of the story of the artists is described on the panels next to their paintings.

Antonio Valenzuela (2 years ago)
Meditative and beautiful, not overwhelming like the Louvre can be. Everything as advertised, well set up, tastefully presented. I recommend the Orsay-Orangerie combined ticket as it'll save you a bit of money and both museums are great experiences.

Theresa Tran (3 years ago)
Nice little museum in the park with some beautiful pieces of art. Today my husband and I enjoyed a couple hours inside on a rainy day. No line, €9 a person to enter. They do have a coat check but you could also just hold onto your things. Two main floors of art with a small cafe and gift shop in between. The lowest floor has a collection from various artists. Informative plaques in French and English make it really easy to know about the artists featured. Audio guides are €5. On the top floor you can find Monet’s water lilies. We were lucky enough to see both the rooms. Midway through seeing the second room they asked everyone to leave and blocked off the room. Not sure why but seemed unfortunate since Monet’s Waterlilies is what many people look forward to seeing. Very manageable museum that doesn’t feel too over whelming.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Historic Site of the week

Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, also known as the Great Mosque of Córdoba and the Mezquita is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture.

According to a traditional account, a small Visigoth church, the Catholic Basilica of Saint Vincent of Lérins, originally stood on the site. In 784 Abd al-Rahman I ordered construction of the Great Mosque, which was considerably expanded by later Muslim rulers. The mosque underwent numerous subsequent changes: Abd al-Rahman II ordered a new minaret, while in 961 Al-Hakam II enlarged the building and enriched the Mihrab. The last of such reforms was carried out by Almanzor in 987. It was connected to the Caliph"s palace by a raised walkway, mosques within the palaces being the tradition for previous Islamic rulers – as well as Christian Kings who built their palaces adjacent to churches. The Mezquita reached its current dimensions in 987 with the completion of the outer naves and courtyard.

In 1236, Córdoba was conquered by King Ferdinand III of Castile, and the centre of the mosque was converted into a Catholic cathedral. Alfonso X oversaw the construction of the Villaviciosa Chapel and the Royal Chapel within the mosque. The kings who followed added further Christian features, such as King Henry II rebuilding the chapel in the 14th century. The minaret of the mosque was also converted to the bell tower of the cathedral. It was adorned with Santiago de Compostela"s captured cathedral bells. Following a windstorm in 1589, the former minaret was further reinforced by encasing it within a new structure.

The most significant alteration was the building of a Renaissance cathedral nave in the middle of the expansive structure. The insertion was constructed by permission of Charles V, king of Castile and Aragon. Artisans and architects continued to add to the existing structure until the late 18th century.

Architecture

The building"s floor plan is seen to be parallel to some of the earliest mosques built from the very beginning of Islam. It had a rectangular prayer hall with aisles arranged perpendicular to the qibla, the direction towards which Muslims pray. The prayer hall was large and flat, with timber ceilings held up by arches of horseshoe-like appearance.

In planning the mosque, the architects incorporated a number of Roman columns with choice capitals. Some of the columns were already in the Gothic structure; others were sent from various regions of Iberia as presents from the governors of provinces. Ivory, jasper, porphyry, gold, silver, copper, and brass were used in the decorations. Marvellous mosaics and azulejos were designed. Later, the immense temple embodied all the styles of Morisco architecture into one composition.

The building is most notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, granite and porphyry. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple that had occupied the site previously, as well as other Roman buildings, such as the Mérida amphitheatre. The double arches were an innovation, permitting higher ceilings than would otherwise be possible with relatively low columns. The double arches consist of a lower horseshoe arch and an upper semi-circular arch.

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