Métro La Muette, then walk west through the park, bear the right, off Avenue Raphael

References:

Michelin Green Guide p. 232

Michelin Plan #11, p. 26, sector H4

Michelin Plan #56, p. 27, sector H4

The official name of this museum is Musée Marmottan, but that obscures the fact that there is a major Monet collection on permanent exhibit. This museum is a wonderful place. In an old mansion of a very wealthy 19th-century family, we are able to see how they lived and the art they collected. An upstairs section of the mansion was, disappointingly closed this visit, but from a previous trip I remembered portraits that the Impressionists of the time painted, then gave to each other. After all, they were very creative, but many of their works did not sell well during their lives.

In the mid-1960s, Monet's son, at age 86, was run over by a car--bad for him, but good for the city of Paris and for all of us. To avoid taxes, his collection of his father's art and memorabilia ended up in a specially built annex here.

How wonderful to see one of Monet's palettes with the dried oil colors and so many of his sketchbooks! We saw Monet's art throughout his productive years: those famous water lilies, the Japanese bridge, his little boat, and my all-time favorite, the sunrise over the water. This wonderful piece has become a logo symbol for the museum.

His eyes began to fail him around 1900, and the progression of his art reflects this. His images become less and less distinctive, the canvases necessarily larger, and the colors even seem angrier as he fought his encroaching disability.

Why are these wonderful people deprived of the senses most important to them--Monet's vision, Beethoven's hearing? Maybe the suffering gives them the ability and the drive to be even more creative.

There is one canvas that is atypical (everyone's least favorite) but the most distinctive of them all. The brush strokes are disconnected and applied with such force (caused by anger?) that he inadvertently outlined the two vertical frame supports behind the very large canvas.

Works by Gaugain and Renoir are also on exhibit here. There are a number places in Paris to see the Impressionists in addition to the Musée d'Orsay. This is one, Musée de L'Orangerie at the Place de la Concorde end of the Tuileries gardens, is another.

The gift shop is exceptional. In addition to being large and varied, it has a children's corner with books and materials intended for primary and elementary school kids. The shop is commercially astute by stocking materials in English. As I did last year, I bought several books for my granddaughters.

Wooden floored, white walled, aesthetically spare, in the Monet section; in the Marmottan, very Napoleonic & ornate - a definite contrast. We were most enthralled by the Monet; we were also grateful it was open, as it is a private museum. There was a line to get in at opening time, as other museum-starved tourists joined us in this somewhat out-of-the-way location, a lovely area near the Champs Elysses which we explored afterwards. It's a must for Monet lovers because it has examples from most periods of his long life. A treat! I should explain this is really 2 museums in one; the Marmottan section is devoted to Napoleanic era treasures ; I'm an ardent lover of Monet so I emphasize seeing that collection. The travelling Monet show I saw in San Diego a few years ago had about 50 paintings, mostly done late, so I was delighted by the wealth here.