© Sophie Boegly
Built in 1852 in the Jardin des Tuileries, at the western end of the terrace close to the Seine, the Orangerie was originally a greenhouse where the orange trees of the Palais des Tuileries were overwintered. In 1922, some years after the building had begun hosting popular celebrations, Georges Clémenceau, the President of the Council, suggested the Orangerie as a possible venue for the installation of a monumental artwork – his friend Claude Monet’s cycle of Water Lilies. This was the start of the museum’s Impressionist collection.
Inaugurated in 1927, the Water Lilies installation is still the focal point of the Musée de l’Orangerie. Two oval rooms representing the infinity symbol house the eight panels, two metres high and a total of ninety-one metres in length. Because of their east-west orientation, the panels benefit from the ever-changing natural light that floods the rooms from above, according to the painter’s wishes, bringing the water lilies to life and enveloping the viewer.
A shrine to impressionism and post-impressionism, the museum today also houses the Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collection comprising paintings by Henri Matisse, Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Alfred Sisley, Amadeo Modigliani and Marie Laurencin among others.
Throughout the year, it hosts temporary exhibitions, contemporary art installations, guided tours, workshops and performing arts shows.
Useful information
From 9am to 6pm. Closed on Tuesday. Visitors must book a time slot
Jardin des Tuileries Place de la Concorde, Paris 1st
