My First Museum in Paris, Musée Dʻorsay
10 Janvier 2023
Musée Dʻorsay
“Nous ne mourons pas, cʻest le monde qui nois quitte.” Carnet de croquis, 1930-1935
“We do not die, the world dies from us. Sketchbook, 1930-1935
"Je ne peindrai plus d'intérieurs et les gens en train de lire, et les femmes à leur tricot. Je peindrai des êtres qui respirent, sentent, souffrent et aiment." Edvard Munch
“I will no longer paint interiors and people reading and women knitting. I will paint beings who breathe, feel, suffer, and love.” Edvard Munch
Week One of my Paris journeys consisted of my favorite art medium: paintings! My week was filled with art from Alfred Sisley, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Vincent Van Gogh, Berthe Morisot, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, and Edgar Degas… to name a few. The Musée Dʻorsay is overflowing with a rich collection of impressionist art. This is the first-ever collection I stumbled upon on my intellectual wanderer journey here in Paris. Every week, I am hoping to visit a museum and bring you along the way. In addition to sharing some of my favorite pieces, I want to use this platform as an extension of myself and share the history and background behind the pieces.
The current highlight collection features Edvard Munch: Un poème de vie, d’amour et de mort. A poem of life, love and death. Edvard Munch had a diverse portfolio filled with paintings, sketches, drawings, etc. He had a unique approach to art and much of what he produced flowed subsequently through multiple articles which is why he had many variations with the same motif. The themes he presented were similar to that of the current collection's name. He was clearly inspired by the cycle of life, love, death, and rebirth. Scholars note that Munch had a singular vision of wanting to draw upon symbolistic features within all aspects of his art. “For Munch, humanity and nature are united in the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.” What seems to inspire him was the real world around him and the emotions he had toward these subjects. These sentiments were so strong that they manifested themselves in his work. Although he followed consistent themes the diversity in his skill, practice, and presentation is visible through his many pieces. To end, the Musée Dʻorsay had written within its catalog that it invites its audience to ponder this impression Munch leaves “a work that is both fundamentally coherent, even obsessive, and at the same time constantly renewed.”
My favorite pieces of the collection:
Le Baiser, The Kiss: Le Baiser is a set of multiple pieces that have a continuous flow and evolve over time. The creation of the first Le Baiser would begin in 1897 and would continue until 1902. Over time it is noted that the couple begins to merge and almost become one, inseparable body. Munch purposely evolved his painting to hint at the overwhelming threat of “loss of individuality, a loss of one's own existence and identity" (which hints at death), a path possible for relationships and love. In the same way I touched upon Memento Mori in one of the first blogs, I feel that this is how Munch interpreted this impression. There are many similarities between the theme he leveraged in his art and Memento Mori. Although he did not directly classify what he was doing as Memento Mori, they were very similar notions.
In this series alone he accents love, death, hatred, life, anxiety, passion, jealousy, pain, and sorrow. It is interesting that although his art is called “Le Baiser” which would immediately draw an audience to notions of love, happiness, and passion in their minds the color pallet and positioning of the subjects go against nature. Munch uses dark tones like deep wine reds, purples, navies, dark greens, etc. For me, the imagery was evocative and almost reminded me of feelings of tension and uncomfortability. It is interesting to see how he used emotions as inspiration so well that I as a consumer of his art could feel the emotions that he was possibly attempting to convey. The power and skill of Munch and his artistic tools (paintbrush, pencil, pen, etc.) are intense and continue to be impactful throughout decades after his death in 1944.
1894-1895 1895 1897
La Mort de Marat II, Death of Marat: The theme of this painting is the assassination of the Revolutionary Marat by Charlotte Corday which was originally painted in 1793. Munch was inspired by his work and decided to create his own version in 1907. Love is a heavy motif highlighted within this art as his former lover Tulla Larsen is thought to be the woman depicted in this painting. Upon reflection, I wonder if Munch depicts himself as “Marat” where Tulla is Corday.
Original by Jacques-Louis David in 1793. 1906-1907 1907
Skrik, The Scream: The Scream, known as Skrik, is a modern, iconic idol in modern art. Themes: anxiety, isolation, rejection, tragedy, uncertainty, and death.
1895
I would not consider Munch to be mad but it is apparent he was taunted by many things that surrounded him throughout his life and the elements we consider to be “dark” were those that would inspire him and his art the most. Munch was a strong, passionate, and skilled artist who in the end was able to leverage his mental illnesses and used it as his muse and a source of creative expression. Munch states “My sufferings are part of myself and my art. They are indistinguishable from me, and their destruction would destroy my art. I want to keep those sufferings.”
