L'Orangerie update
 

According to several news sources today, the Musee de L'Orangerie was inaugurated today but will not open to the public until May 17. I just did a search on Yahoo.fr news. http://tinyurl.com/rmwh8

If I've translated wrong, please correct me, as I'm headed to Paris in 72 hours...would certainly love to see it. The photos look stunning! What a tease!

Thanks for posting. I arrive in Paris on the 19th -- but I bet the Orangerie will be swamped. :-(

Fingers crossed for our June trip. Thanks amyb!

.....and for October, hopefully the rush will be over by then (not likely !!)

I had a newsletter that said the first exhibition will be in November.
Were they wrong?

Cigale, I think the museum itself reopens now (or shortly) and the first exhibition is in the fall. That is how I read what is on the museum's offical site.

Great, thanks!

At the end of the article you posted it looks as if the museum will be free from the 17th through the 21st (if my understanding of the French is correct)

glad to hear of it's opening. Our trip is end of June. Does anyone know if this is on the mussee' pass?
thanks.

yes, it says it will reopen to the public on the 17th of May. They might be having some private showings or something until then, that's what they sometimes do where I live. And it does say it will be free from the 17th to the 21st of May.

It used to be on the museum pass, so I imagine it still will as it is government-owned.

Here are a couple of photos from the BBC's website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4968800.stm

How long has it been closed -- Seems like about 15-20 years! Somehow its being closed all that time seemed like part of the unchanging mystique of Paris......

MVOR - Thank you for sharing the website. Finally on my 4th trip to Paris L'Orangerie will be open to the public. Can't wait!

Tedgale, I know what you mean. I almost feel like I can't allow myself to believe that it really will be open when I will be there in June.

Madison, you're welcome and thanks again to amy for her original notice.

I expect excellent reports from there when you all get back! I leave tonight and perhaps I will sneak by just in case...the photos are amazing, I'd love to get in there. Alas, my fourth trip to Paris and no L'Orangerie for me. ;-)

Amy, have a wonderful trip!

I had no idea L'Orangerie was reopening now. The renovation looks so beautiful - all that natural light! The museum was one of my favorite places to go during my year abroad in Paris, just to sit on one of the little seats surrounded by the Nympheas... but the lighting was always terrible, dim and yellow. Now I know why - a reconstruction during the 1960's that put the Guillaume collection above them - thanks for the article, Amy!

tedgale, the article says it's been closed 6 years; the BBC link says 8. Sure does feel like an eternity!

BBC is wrong. We were there in June of 1999 and it was open, but there was a special exhibition and lines were miles long so we didn't do it. It closed after that, so it hasn't been 8 years!

ttt

Dumb question, but will this affect the collections at other places; so, for example, will some paintings from the Orsay or Marmottan be moved here? Since I've seen Orsay and Marmottan, I'm wondering if the Orangerie will be more of the same, or new paintings. Still, it's exciting that Orangerie will be finally open.

JoeTro, it's not a dumb question. The musee de l'Orangerie has always had its own collection. I don't know what they did with those artworks over the years, whether they were displayed elsewhere, travelled in exhibitions, etc. (I did see at least one in a Modigliani retrospective.) But prior to the renovation closing the museum, they were only at the Orangerie. The Monet Nympheas (waterlilies) are set in their own oval-shaped rooms so that you're surrounded by them; the Guillaume collection of other Impressionist art is also very good.

Check out the museum's website. Even if you don't read French, you can click on the links to see some of the artworks.
http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/