Friday November 17, 2006

While packing to fly home tomorrow, I just found an old brochure in my bag left over from a vacation my wife and I took to Paris with my parents a few years ago. It's a brochure for the Marmottan Museum, one my favorite places from that trip.

The museum is known for three reasons: its collection of Empire furniture, art, etc., its collection of medieval sculpture, and, finally, its Monet collection. The museum has 150 Monets, donated by the artist's son. I saw the Monet show several years ago at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I enjoyed it, but it did not affect me the way the Marmottan did.

The main lower level of the museum has a floorplan in the shape of a keyhole: a long rectangular space that ends in a circular area. As I walked down the rectanglar space, the curved wall at the end began to come into view. As I stepped forward to view the entire circular space, I was stunned by the beauty of the display. In front of me was a wide, sweeping view of a series of the Giverny Nymphéas with such rich colors and patterns that it took my breath away. All I could do was sit and look. It was absolutely marvelous.

The museum is located at 2 rue Louis Boilly 75016 Paris. Next time you are in Paris, do check it out. You will not be disappointed.