We followed up our day at Giverny with a visit to the Musée de l'Orangerie today. This museum houses eight of Monet’s water lily paintings; those created between 1916 and 1926. These canvases were his culminating works and he gifted them to the city of Paris before he died in 1927. The Orangerie building was renovated and reopened in 2005 and this renovation yielded architecture and design that support and accentuate the beauty of the work. Olivier Brochet, the architect who designed this modern renovation, allows a gentle diffused light to bathe the work.
The paintings completely surround the viewer. Their color, painterly mark making and sheer size create an all over sensory experience. Having visited Monet’s garden it is easy to imagine why he would want to recreate this ‘all over’ garden experience for the viewer. This museum is truly a beautiful symbiosis between the space and the work.
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