The Paris You’ve Never Seen – Paris, France

Visiting friends in Paris? You can show them the Paris they’ve never seen.

Strange things happen when Annie Jones comes to France. Last time she came to Normandy a shop proprietor and his wife offered us lodging in their home (when they discovered we were looking for a room for a World War II veteran coming for the D-Day memorial services). They’ve since become dear friends. Annie brings the best out in people – and sometimes the unexpected.

For example, Chris took her and her friend, Ken, to the Musee d’Orsay. This was Ken’s first trip to Paris. He and Annie live in Florida, but they’re ‘down-home’ Pennsylvannian to the core. Like most American visitors, they wanted to see the Impressionists Gallery on the third level including Manet’s “Dejeuner Sur L’Herbe” considered to be a scandal when first exhibited. Nowadays, visitors smile condescendingly at the whimsical picnic scene of partially dressed women accompanied by fully dressed men, audacious at the time because the figures were contemporaries rather than mythical, romantic characters.

Before getting ready to leave, Annie paused to study her museum map. A young American (also from Florida) peered over her shoulder, and blurted out:

“Have you seen the big vagina downstairs? – Uh, excuse me, I hope I haven’t offended you, but you really should see it.”

It seemed like the sort of thing one couldn’t overlook but neither Chris nor I had ever seen the ‘big vagina’ even though we had been bringing visitors to the Musee d’Orsay for the last few years. The painting this ebullient Floridian had been referring to was Gustave Courbet’s “The Origin of the World” painted in 1866. Gustave Courbet is best known for some of his self-portraits such as ‘Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet’. John Russell writes in Art: The Critics’Choice, 150 Masterpieces of Western Art: “Courbet exploited what we would recognize today as a strikingly modern strain of self-consciousness. He was vulnerable, but in control.”

“Truth will be God for us,” was Courbet’s motto.

Some of Courbet’s contemporary critics considered his work to be coarse – that is, coarse brushwork. And his subject matter questionable – “Burial at Ornans”, and his realism – ungainly.

A Turkish ambassador privately commissioned the Origin of the World. So, one can only imagine what the critics would say if it had ever appeared in public. But it does prove one thing about nineteenth century mores. If in public, even the sight of an ankle caused a stir, behind closed doors was another world.

Moral of the story: Spend an extra day at the Musee d’Orsay. If you’ve only seen the Impressionists, you’ve barely scratched the surface of Musee d’Orsay’s treasure trove. Let sculptor Carpeaux’s muses entrance you. Visit the corner dedicated to Rodin’s unfinished masterpiece of bronze doors. (There’s another hidden story about Rodin’s Balzac, but see the statue first and read the story afterward). View samples of 19th century architecture including a detailed cross-section of the Garnier Opera House.

If you still have energy, wander through the Art Nouveau furniture display with its whimsical asymmetrical patterns imitating nature. Stop for tea and cakes in the ornate gilded and chandelier-decorated restaurant on the second level. Dedicated to 19th century art, the Musee d’Orsay proves that there’s always more to discover about this often misunderstood century.

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