Prior to the reopening of the Musée d'Orsay, work in the collections

The Musée d'Orsay was one of the first museums to officially announce its reopening on December 15, 2020. With its fine collection of 18th- and 19th-century art, and exhibitions featuring masterpieces from around the world, the museum is one of the busiest in Paris. 3.65 million admissions in 2019, a record for this former train station!

By 2020, the coronavirus will have changed many habits for museum employees. Visitor gauges, marked routes to avoid crossing at entrances and exits, compulsory masks, but also, work, made possible during the second confinement.

In the columns of Le Parisien, we confide in you. The most fragile works had to be protected from the sun with kraft paper, opera scenes by Degas had to be moved to replace an ensemble by Caillebotte, walls had to be repainted, and the marble of the sculptures in the Grande Nef had to be dusted... Work usually carried out on Mondays, the museum's only day of closure. Four weeks which enabled us to get a head start on restoration and renovation work, but also a major project for the organization of exhibitions at the Musée d'Orsay.

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The major exhibition, The Origins of the World, dedicated to the invention of nature in Darwin's century, was due to open in September, then November. It will now run from December 15, 2020 to May 2, instead of February 14, 2021. Except that the works, some on loan from major institutions, are expected elsewhere. We therefore had to negotiate the extension of their loans, which meant writing 80 official letters, according to exhibition project manager Elise Bauduin. The exhibitions dedicated to Léon Spilliaert, Aubrey Beardsley and Girault de Prangey are also affected by these changes, albeit to a lesser extent.

In short, you now know everything about the reopening of the Musée d'Orsay. All that's left to do is make your reservations and get there to admire the museum's temporary and permanent collections once again!