The Paris Effect
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Press

Rock Around the Clock

11/21/2017

4 Comments

 
Picture
Seductive and clever,
Paris seems to outlast, outshine and outclass
just about every other city in the world. 
How do they do it???

​Paris practically sizzles, knowing exactly when and how to flaunt it.
  Fait accompli, this centuries old gal still has "it," a genuine
triumph in a world that's always looking for the next new thing.
​
  Exactly how does this grande dame eclipse every other star in the sky?
I believe it comes down to the ability to re-invent herself -- again and again.
Through sheer force of will, this bright-eyed city presses forward, determined
​not to rest on yesterday's laurels, stepping up & raising the bar year after year.

​Case in point: Consider the ever-popular Musée d'Orsay.
​  As one of the premiere art treasuries in the City of Light, this museum, much like the city in which it resides, is a definite upgrade over her more humble beginnings. 
  Well located from birth, the dramatic stone edifice faces the Seine,
staring at its chief rival the Louvre, prestigiously positioned
just across the way on the "right" side of town.  
​And while the Louvre was once the center of power in Paris, home to kings,
queens and eventually beautiful celebrities with names like Mona Lisa
and Venus de Milo, the Musée d'Orsay began as a
 simple railroad station built at the turn of the 20th century.
​Transforming a simple train depot into one of the most sought after
art repositories in the world is really a story of Paris and her ability to
​ strike a balance between modern and traditional.
​It's the ultimate story of re-invention, a watershed moment
​in the enrichment and upgrade of an ever evolving city.
Picture
Deemed obsolete by the more modern -- and larger -- trains that required
updated terminals, the Gare d'Orsay was sadly abandoned just 60 years
after its auspicious launch at the 1900 World's Fair.

​Developers hoped to demolish the architecturally magnificent Beaux Arts address.
Their plan called for a modern makeover -- targeted as a possible locale for a
 luxury hotel or modern office building with a contemporary 1970's style.
  But Paris was having none of that, having learned a hard lesson
from the destruction of Les Halles and the public's
unceasing cry of regret that soon followed.
​
Thankfully, the more culturally adept of France's brain trust prevailed and the building became temporary headquarters for an auction house and
 a small theatre company while new plans were drawn for its future,
​insuring its most historical architectural elements would remain intact.

  By 1986, the disused railroad station became the new star of the
 Paris landscape, reborn as one of the most iconic must-sees of the city.
  The Musée d'Orsay not only cemented Paris' remarkable hold
on the world's collection of art, it became art in its own right.
Picture
Thank heavens the wrecking ball missed this gem.
  And for once, the traditionalists, the progressives and the capitalists all won,
each divergent group victorious, turning a world-class idea into a sure-footed reality.
​
  I cannot imagine Paris without the Musée d'Orsay just as one
 cannot picture a more perfect setting for the art this museum holds.
  Paris pulls off the impossible -- again.

  Just when it seems like all the best ideas are taken, the city strikes gold.
  Their ingenuous strategy pulled together a cohesive collection
comprised of the modern art revolution, gathering all the
artistic styles that evolved from 1848 to 1914.
Art movements such as Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism,
Art Nouveau, and Symbolism were spread out among disjointed outlets
such as
the Jeu de Paume, the Musée Luxembourg and
even some dust-gathering storerooms of the Louvre.
With their rejuvenated train-station-turned-world-class-museum,
everyone's favorite paintings now had one home, displayed magnificently
​under one gorgeous iron & glass barrel vaulted ceiling. 

Magnificent lighting and thoughtful positioning enhance the art
striking a precise balance between modern and traditional.
  Your heart will melt at the sheer beauty as you marvel over the collection. 
​ I know of no other museum that does a better job of holding you captive while making your imagination fly free, unabated by achy feet and too much stuff.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Yes, it's all here.
  The famous "Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe," the Manet painting
that started the whole modern movement.
​
 From Degas' little dancers.... to Toulouse-Lautrec's despondent
prostitutes.... and the Pointillists' diminutive dabs of color,
the Musée d'Orsay's collection dazzles like no other.
Vincent van Gogh's haunting landscapes divined from his time in a mental
​ hospital.... Gauguin's Tahitian Garden of Eden... and Renoir's dreamy
 sun-dappled luncheons take you on an Alice in Wonderland adventure.

  From Rodin's unforgettable sculptures to drool-worthy art nouveau
furniture you'll want to ship home,
if you can't find something you like here you must be brain-dead. 
​The Musée d'Orsay is surely the best makeover ever.
They've thought of everything.... except maybe
​ Paul Newman's eyes and two scoops of Berthillon....
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Recently, the Musée d'Orsay has seen its historical star rise
for a far different -- and sinister -- reason.
  For many years, a french Holocaust survivor fought for the return of
a Nazi-looted Pissarro original that once hung in her family home.

  "Shepherdess Bringing in the Sheep," painted by Camille Pissarro in 1886,
will grace French soil once again, some eighty years after its theft. 
In quite a convoluted story, the painting somehow ended up in University of Oklahoma's Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (by totally legal, innocent means)
after going through the unsavory hands of the Nazi art thieves during WWII.
  The university and Musée d'Orsay will trade "ownership,"
most likely making the swap about every five years.

  Ironically, Camille Pissarro was a Jew so the Nazi war machine
would have considered anything he painted "degenerate art"
though they were more than happy to rip off its Jewish owners,
the Meyer family of Galeries Lafayette fame.
The surviving family member -- adopted daughter Léone Meyer -- whose
own (birth) family perished in Auschwitz -- is said to be particularly happy
the history of the piece will now be known across the globe. 

​ Justice well served.
​And across the street, it's said, Mona Lisa's smile just got bigger....
Picture
Picture
As I fight the basic tenets of aging and falling into disrepair -- spending
hours searching for just the right serum and undergarments -- the city of
Paris seems to have found the right formula for an aging "fixer-upper."
  If only I had a little Monet or Cezanne to hang from my ears, perhaps I could
  steer my golden years in the right direction.... certainly a shade brighter. 

​ Paris city planners outfitted an obsolete train station
and turned it into a glam-tastic treasury of art. 
And thanks to them, with a new shade of lipstick and a fresh
pair of walking shoes, I feel renewed just by marching
through their doors into one of my favorite museums in Paris. 

​Talk about a life altering makeover,

the Musée d'Orsay is surely the best facelift ever.
​So get out there -- and as Bill Haley shouted,
​Put your glad-rags on and rock around the clock tonight!

​Hats off to all you imaginative art lovers out there.
​  Enjoy the view!
Picture
4 Comments
    Picture

    AUTHOR
    MICHELLE MOGGIO

    Thanks for visiting  my blog!

    I've been experiencing the joys of Paris since the ripe old age of eleven.
    As a big fan of duck fat, raw oysters and bad French movies, my long career in advertising helped pave the way for drinking at lunch. When not living la vie en rose, my husband Gary and I live in Brentwood, TN, where we stay busy planning our next travel adventure and offering unsolicited advice to our daughter.

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014


    RSS Feed

    Click below to buy
    The Paris Effect 
    book today
    Enter your email address to receive blog updates -
    Subscribe Now
    Buy Now

    Categories

    All
    100th Blog
    20th Arrondissement
    Abbaye De Fontfroide
    Absinthe
    Academie De La Grande Chaumière
    Adrian Leeds
    Aix-en-Provence
    Albi
    Aligot
    Alsace
    Ambassade D'Auvergne
    Amboise
    American History
    American Revolution
    Amphitheatre
    Antibes
    Apartments
    Aperitif
    April In Paris
    Arc De Triomphe Du Carrousel
    Architecture
    Arena De Nimes
    Ariége
    Armenian Cathedral Of Paris
    Art
    Art Deco
    Artistic Paris
    Artlover
    Art Museum
    Art Nouveau
    Atonement Chapel
    Auray
    Avenue Foch
    Avenue Frochot
    Avignon
    Baccarat
    Baden-Baden
    Baguette
    Basque
    Bayeux Tapestry
    B&B
    Benjamin Franklin
    Bénodet
    Bercy Village
    Biarritz
    Biot
    Biot France
    Bistros
    Bonbons
    Books Set In France
    Boulangerie
    Brassaï
    Brittany
    Brittany American Cemetery
    Burgundy
    Cagnes-sur-Mer
    Cakes
    Canal Du Midi
    Candy
    Cap D'Antibes
    Caracalla Spa
    Caramels
    Catalan France
    Cathars
    Cathedral
    Cathedrale St-Just
    Cemetière De Passy
    Cemetière Saint-Vincent
    Chantilly
    Chapelle Expiatoire
    Chapelle Saint Vincent De Paul
    #Chapel Of Hospice Saint-Jean
    Charles Aznavour
    Charles Trenet
    Chartreuse Du Val-de-Benediction
    Chateau
    Chateau De Clisson
    Chateau De Foix
    Chateau De Fougeres
    Chateau De Malmaison
    Chateau Grimaldi
    Cheese
    Chinon
    Chocolate
    Choice Vs. Chance
    Christian Constant
    #Church Of Saint-Volusien
    Cimiez
    Cité Des Fleurs
    Cité De Trevise
    Claude Monet
    Clisson
    Cocktail
    Coco Chanel
    Cognac
    Cointreau
    Cole Porter
    Comedie-Francaise
    Cote D'Azur
    Coulon
    Cours Mirabeau
    Cours Saleya
    Coussin De Lyon
    Crêpes
    Dessert
    Dijon
    Dreams
    Duck-confit
    Eating In France
    Ecole Des Beaux-Arts
    Ed Clark
    Edith-piaf
    Eglise Notre Dame De Clisson
    Eglise Sainte-Trinité
    Eglise Saint-Germain-des-Prés
    Elsa Maxwell
    Entrevaux
    Environmental Challenges
    Eric Kayser
    Eugene Delacroix
    Fabergé Museum
    Falling For Paris
    Famous-faces
    Fashion History
    Fauchon
    Fernand Léger
    Fete De La Transhumance
    Fête De Vendanges
    Fish Specialties
    Foix
    Folies Bergère
    Fontainebleau
    Fontaine Du Palmier
    Food Markets
    Fougeres
    Fragrance
    France
    Francois-premier
    Free Museums
    French Atlantic Coast
    French Bread
    French Cuisine
    French Food
    French-food
    French History
    French-islands
    French Musee D'Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris
    French Music
    French Resistence
    French Revolution
    #FrenchRiviera
    French Riviera
    French Slave Trade
    Friedrichsbad Spa
    Fun Fair Museum
    Genevieve De Gaulle-Anthonioz
    Genièvre
    George Sand
    Germaine Tillion
    Germany
    Gertrude Stein
    Gordes
    Grand Mosque Of Paris
    Grand Palais
    Grasse
    Guerlain
    Gustave Moreau
    Harvest Festival
    Haut-de-Cagnes
    Healthy Travel
    Hediard
    Henri Le Roux
    Henri Matisse
    Holocaust
    Hometown Memories
    Hotel Belles Rives
    Hôtel De Soubise
    Hotel Dieu
    Hotels
    Ile De Bréhat
    Ile De Ré
    Isadora Duncan
    Jacques Genin
    Janet Flanner
    Jardin Samuel-de-Champlain
    Jay Z
    Jazz A Juan
    Jean Seberg
    Jewelry
    Josephine Baker
    Josephine Bonaparte
    Juan-les-Pins
    Keith Haring
    La Campagne A Paris
    La Couveroitade
    Lafayette
    La Jourrnée San Voiture
    Lalique
    Language Skills
    Languedoc
    La Rochelle
    La Verrerie De Biot
    Lavinia Wine Store
    Le Bonbon Au Palais
    Le Bon Georges
    Le Capitole
    Le Carrousel Des Mondes Marins
    Le Clos Lucé
    Le Cochon à L'Oreille
    Le Coq Rico
    Legendary Lovers
    Le Grand Véfour
    Le Musée Montmartre
    Leonardo Da Vinci
    Le Rostand
    Les Cocottes
    Les Fauves
    Les Invalides
    Les Machines De L'Ile
    Les Sept Iles
    Lichtentaler Allee
    Lille
    Little Gourmand
    Loire Atlantique
    Luberon
    Luxembourg Gardens
    Maison Carrée
    Malmaison
    Man Ray
    Marais Poitevin
    Marc Chagall
    Marché Beauvau
    Marché D'Aligre
    Marché President Wilson
    Marché Victor Hugo
    Marie Curie
    Market Street
    Marquis De Lafayette
    Matisse
    Maurice Utrillo
    Medieval Festival
    Medieval France
    Memorial De L'Abolition De L'Esclavage
    Memorial De La Shoah
    MFK Fisher
    Minervois Wine
    #ModernArt
    Monolithic Church
    Montmartre
    Montmartre Museum
    Montparnasse
    Montparnasse Cemetery
    Montpellier
    Movies Set In France
    Musee Carnavalet
    Musée De La Chasse Et De La Nature
    Musée Des Arts Decoritifs
    Musée Des Arts Forains
    Musée Des Beaux-Arts De Dijon
    Musee D'Orsay
    Musée D'Orsay
    Musee L'Orangerie
    Musée Marc Chagall
    Musee Marmottan Monet
    Musée Matisse Nice
    Musée Picasso
    Musée Yves Saint Laurent
    Museum
    Museum Of Decorative Arts
    Museum Of Hunting & Nature
    Museum Of Modern Art City Of Paris
    Nancy
    Nantes
    Napoleon Bonaparte
    Napoleon III Apartments
    Narbonne
    Nashville
    Natalie Portman
    Nazi Atrocities
    Nice
    Nice France
    Nimes
    Normandy
    Not-far-from-paris
    Not-far-from-paris
    Notre Dame De Lorette
    Notre Dame De Paris
    Occitanie
    #Occitanie
    Off-the-tourist-track
    Off-the-tourist-track
    Opera-garnier
    Operation Dragoon
    Oradoursurglane
    Our Lady Of Paris
    Palais Lascaris
    Palais Royal
    Paloma Beach
    Pancake
    Pancake Pantry
    Parade
    Parc De Bercy
    Paris
    Paris 1968
    Paris Arrondissements
    Paris Art Museum
    Paris Art Schools
    Paris At Home
    Paris Cafes
    Paris Fashion
    Paris Friend
    Paris Markets
    Paris Metro
    Paris Neighborhoods
    Paris Parks
    Paris Patisseries
    Paris Pets
    Paris Predestination
    Paris Retail Therapy
    Paris Travel
    Parks
    Passage Boudin
    Passerelle Simone De Beauvoir
    Pastis
    Patisserie
    Patricia Wells
    Paul Cezanne
    Perfume
    Pernes-les-Fontaines
    Pet Cemeteries
    Petit Palais
    Photography
    Picpus Cemetery
    Pinching Pennies
    Pink Granite Coast
    Place De Furstenberg
    Place De La Concorde
    Place Des Vosges
    Place Masséna
    Place Stanislaus
    Place Vendome
    Ploumanac'h
    Poilane
    Ponr Alexandre III
    Poster Art
    Promenade Des Anglais
    Provence
    #Provence
    Provence Markets
    Puffins
    Pyrenees-Orientales
    Rambouillet
    Raoul Dufy
    Regional Cooking
    Rennes
    Renoir
    Robert Doisneau
    Robert Wuhl
    Roquefort
    Rue Cler
    Rue Cremieux
    Rue De L'Eole Du Medecine
    Rue De Nil
    Rue Dénoyez
    Rue Des Ecoles
    Rue Des Martyrs
    Rue Irenee Blanc
    Rue Jules Siegfried
    Ruelle Des Chats
    Rue Montorgeuil
    Ruth
    Saintdenis
    Saint-Emilion
    Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
    Saint-Etienne-du-Mont
    Sainteustache
    Saint-Goustan
    Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert
    Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
    Saint-Malo
    Saint-Medard Church
    Saint-Paul-de-Mausole
    Saint-Remy-de-Provence
    Saint-Vincent Cemetery
    Sculpture
    Senlis
    Serendipity
    Shopping
    Sliceoflife
    Slice Of Life
    Small Paris Pleasures
    Small Town Saturday Night
    Social Media
    So-Pi
    Springtime In Paris
    Square Des Peupliers
    Square Montsouris
    St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral
    Street Food
    Suzanne Valadon
    Suzy Solidor
    Sylvia Beach
    Texas
    The Avignon Papacy
    The-dreyfus-affair
    The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
    The Louvre
    The Moose
    The National Archives
    The Pantheon
    The-paris-effect
    The Pink City
    Toulouse
    Toulouse-Lautrec
    Tourrettes-sur-Loup
    Travel
    Travel Advice
    Travel Planning
    Troyes
    U.N. World Climate Conference
    Urban Art
    Uzès
    Vacation
    Vacation Planning Food
    Vel D'Hiver
    Vichy
    Vieille Bourse
    Vieux Nice
    Villa Eilenroc
    Villefranche-de-Conflent
    Villeneuve-les-Avignon
    Vincent Van Gogh
    Walking
    Walking Paris
    Willi Ronis
    Wine
    Wine Festival
    WWII
    #WWII France
    WWII Paris
    WWII Provence
    Yachts
    Yves Saint Laurent

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.