Harriet Backer – an exhibition

Although not well known outside Norway, Harriet Backer was the country’s most famous female painter of the late 19th century. She was highly praised for her rich and glowing use of color, creating a unique style that combined indoor scenes and outdoor painting. She was influenced by the realist movement and Impressionism, using free brushstrokes and paying close attention to light. She is also known for her gentle portraits of rural life and her interest in painting church interiors.

During a time when women were not fully recognized as citizens in Norway, she broke barriers and became an important figure in the art world. She served on the board and acquisitions committee of the Norwegian National Gallery for twenty years. In the early 1890s, she opened a painting school where she taught future notable artists like Nikolai Astrup, Halfdan Egedius, and Helga Ring Reusch. She was supported by collector Rasmus Meyer, who was also a patron of Edvard Munch.

Harriet Backer – an exhibition

Location: Orsay
Dates: September 24, 2024 – January 12, 2025

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Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism – an exhibition.

150 years ago, on April 15, 1874, the first impressionist art show started in Paris. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley, and Cézanne, eager for freedom, decided to break the rules and have their own exhibition outside the official ones. This is when impressionism began. To celebrate this special anniversary, the Musée d’Orsay is showing about 130 artworks and looking at this important date with a new perspective, considering it the day that started the avant-garde movements.

“Paris 1874” looks back on why 31 artists (only seven of them are famous worldwide now) came together to show their artworks. This time was after two wars: the Franco-German War of 1870 and a harsh civil war. During this crisis, artists started to think differently about their art and try new things.

Does this sound like an interesting exhibition to you? Reserve your ticket online and experience it in the popular Orsay Museum in Paris from March 2024 until July 2024. Why not do a summer trip to Paris to enjoy the Summer Olympics, but also be one of the lucky people to experience the last days of this interesting exhibition?

Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism

Location: Orsay Museum
Dates: March 26, 2024 – July 14, 2024

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 until 18:00, but it is open even longer on Thursday evenings. The museum entrance fee is 16 euros for adults which also gives you the chance to visit this interesting temporary exhibition.

You can read more about the exhibition and buy your ticket at https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en.

Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise – an exhibition.

Are you a fan of Vincent Van Gogh? You are not the only one. There are lots of temporary exhibitions about the famous painter and they always attract tens of thousands of visitors. As a result, it is quite hard to find free tickets and open time slots if you are interested in the following Van Gogh exhibition in the Orsay Museum in Paris.

This art show is the first one all about Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings from the last two months of his life in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris. After lots of research, the exhibition is ready to help people see how important this time was for the artist.

Van Gogh came to Auvers-sur-Oise on May 20, 1890, and sadly passed away on July 29 after trying to end his own life. Even though he only stayed a bit over two months, this time was crucial for his art. It had a new style and growth, influenced by the emotional struggles he faced.

Van Gogh had a hard time in Arles and Saint-Rémy, so he decided to live near Paris with his brother Theo to find new creative energy. He picked Auvers because Dr. Gachet, a doctor who specialized in treating sadness and was also an art lover, lived there. Van Gogh lived at the Ragout Inn in the village and explored everything around him, dealing with worries about his health, his relationship with his brother, and his place in the art world.

This exhibition is special because it focuses only on this important time in Van Gogh’s career. In just two months, he made 74 paintings and 33 drawings, including famous ones like Portrait of Dr. Paul Gachet, The Church at Auvers, and Wheatfield with Crows. The exhibition, with around forty paintings and twenty drawings, will show different themes from this period: village landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and countryside landscapes. It will also feature a series of paintings in a unique double-square format that Van Gogh didn’t usually use.

Would you like to enjoy Van Gogh exhibitions elsewhere in Europe as well? Here are some suggestions.

Van Gogh along the Seine (in Amsterdam).
Poets and Lovers (in London)

Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise – an exhibition.

Location: Orsay Museum
Dates: October 3, 2024 – February 4, 2024

Entrance fee: There is a fee of 16 euros for adults to enter the exhibition. The museum is open daily from 9:30 until 18:00.

Would you like to read more about other events, exhibitions, concerts, and markets in Paris? Look at our what’s happening in Paris page to find out more.

Gaudi

The Gaudi exhibition in Musee d’ Orsay in Paris in 2023 will be France’s first major Gaudi exhibition in the last fifty years. If you visit the exhibition, you can see drawings made by Gaudi, preparing for the construction of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and other buildings and projects on which he worked.

Antoni Gaudi was a renowned Spanish architect who is widely considered one of the most innovative and creative architects of the 20th century. He was born in Reus, Catalonia, Spain on June 25, 1852, and spent most of his life in Barcelona, where he became famous for his unique and highly distinctive designs.

Gaudi was a religious man and was heavily influenced by his Catholic faith in his work. He is best known for his designs for several buildings in Barcelona, including the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló, and Casa Milà. His architectural style is characterized by its use of organic shapes, intricate ornamentation, and innovative engineering techniques.

One of Gaudi’s most famous works is the Sagrada Familia, a massive church in Barcelona that has been under construction since 1882. Gaudi dedicated the latter part of his life to this project, and at the time of his death in 1926, it was still incomplete. Today, the Sagrada Familia remains one of Barcelona’s most popular tourist attractions and is widely regarded as one of Gaudi’s greatest works.

Gaudi in Musee d’ Orsay

Dates: April 4, 2023 – July 17, 2023
Location: Musee d’ Orsay

Official information about the exhibition.

Would you like to read more about other attractions and activities in Paris? Look in our Paris Guide for helpful and inspiring information. You can also look at our Paris calendar to see what’s going on in Paris.

Did you know that Gaudi visited France in 1878, as part of a trip to Paris to attend the World Fair? During this trip, he first encountered the work of French architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, whose Gothic architecture theories would profoundly influence Gaudi’s work. Gaudi also studied the work of French Art Nouveau architects such as Hector Guimard and Emile Gallé.

Manet and Degas in Musee d’ Orsay.

Édouard Manet (1832-1883) and Edgar Degas (1834-1917) are both famous painter. In this temporary exhibition in Musee d’ Orsay in Paris, you can visit works from both painters next to one another and see how they had an impact on one another, their differences, and compare their works.

Édouard Manet was a French painter and a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. He was born in Paris in 1832 and had a strong influence on the development of modern art. Manet’s paintings were controversial and challenged traditional conventions of art, often depicting everyday subjects in a modern and innovative way. Some of his most famous works include “Olympia,” “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe,” and “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.” His bold use of color, loose brushwork, and rejection of academic standards paved the way for the Impressionist movement.

Edgar Degas was a French artist who lived from 1834 to 1917 and is considered one of the greatest painters of the 19th century. He is known for depicting dancers, racehorses, and Parisian life. Degas was a prominent figure in the Impressionist movement and is recognized for his innovative use of composition, light, and color. He was a master of pastel and had a unique ability to capture movement in his paintings. Some of his most famous works include “The Dance Class,” “L’Absinthe,” and “The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer.”

Now that you know more about both painters, you probably understand why an exhibition featuring both painters next to one another is so interesting.

Manet and Degas

Dates: March 28, 2023 – July 23, 2023
Location: Musee d’ Orsay

Tickets: 16 euro (full price)

A few words about Musee d’ Orsay.

The Musée d’Orsay is a world-renowned art museum in Paris. It is situated in a stunning Beaux-Arts-style building that was formerly a railway station. The museum is home to an impressive collection of art, primarily from the 19th and early 20th centuries, including works by famous artists such as Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir. The museum’s highlights include its extensive collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings and its stunning sculptures and decorative arts. The Musée d’Orsay is a must-visit destination for any art lover visiting Paris, and its unique building and collection make it a cultural treasure.