Art Class: The Musee d'Orsay Exhibition

Mar 10

Mar 10 Art Class: The Musee d'Orsay Exhibition

I was slow on the uptake with this exhibition but I had known for months it was underway. I chose the final week of the exhibition to decide suddenly I wanted to go and I went on the penultimate day of the exhibition so I was cutting it pretty fine with time. The exhibition had been on from 29th October 2016 - 5th March 2017. It ended this past Sunday.

The exhibition was incredible. It celebrates 130 years of Korean-French diplomatic ties and at the same time 2016 is also the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Musee d’Orsay. The exhibition was at the Seoul Arts Centre's Hangaram Museum. The Seoul Arts Centre astonishes me every time. Each time I go there I always see something new. The place is absolutely huge, it's filled with concert halls, opera halls, cafes, museums and restaurants.

The Musee d’Orsay, is located in Paris, France and this exhibition definitely brought some French flair right into the heart of Korea. The artists featured were some of the most famously recognised. The exhibition featured works by 19th Century artists including Millet, Van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin, Cezanne, Degas, the list goes on. The exhibition was worth every penny. It costs 13,000 won and features a large quantity of works from a wide variety of artists.

I, being a self-proclaimed art dilettante especially enjoyed this chance to delve into the works of impressionists, romantics and the like, and learn more about their pieces. My favourites were definitely Renoir paintings. Though the two clear favourites in the exhibition were The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet and Meridian by Vincent van Gogh. They are the two most easily recognisable pieces and the Gleaners is even taught here in South Korean schools.

This exhibition is over already so if you missed it I'm afraid an opportunity like this is unlikely to come back to Seoul for a while. But if you can, why not head to Paris and check out the Orsay when you can. You can tell me all about it.