Petit Palais and the Orangerie

The Petit Palais has a wonderful exhibit of French Impressionistic works painted in England. Beginning in 1870 the Franco-Prussian War forced many of these artists to seek refuge in London. English tastes and preferences caused these French artists to alter their style so that their works would sell to English buyers. Next we visited the Orangerie in the Tuileries to see their display of the Water Lilies of Claude Monet, as well as the works of Cézanne, Pissarro and Renoir. We were only a few blocks from the church where Cesar Franck served as organist for most of his adult life. We were within a mile of the place where Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel changed the way we think about music. Much of my understanding of the world and of beauty was formed within a stone’s throw of where we sit tonight.Read more