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Housed in the former - and very splendid - Gare d'Orsay, the Musée d'Orsay welcomes two very interesting new temporary exhibtions. The first is devoted to the painter Pierre Bonnard, while the second takes a look at 40 years of Italian decorative arts from 1900 to 1940. These two ‘not to be missed’ events are just a few minutes walk from the Chess Hotel.

Bonnard: giving colour to simple moments

Born just after the Impressionist period, Pierre Bonnard admired Gauguin and had a passion for the Japanese print genre.  The influence of both can be seen in works that are defined by bright colours and have a simplicity of line that is reminiscent of modernity. His paintings have an air of intimacy as he sneaks into bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and dining rooms to perfectly capture characters as they perform everyday tasks.  
Using the "nabi" period paintings of Arcadia, the exhibition highlights an exceptional period in the artist’s career,  and features landscapes, still lifes, portraits and other scenes captured in Bonnard’s unique style.  The painter was born in Paris in 1867 and died in 1947 in Le Cannet where he had lived for almost 30 years after being attracted to the south of France by its wonderful light.

Dolce Vita at the Orsay Museum

Taking a look at a completely different but no less interesting style, a temporary exhibition entitled « The Dolce Vita ? » explores 40 years of Italian decorative arts.  The period was a time of progress, an intense creative blend of extravagance and optimism, a time of « Futurism » where classic or academic art was considered part of the past. A hundred works by ceramicists, woodworkers, painters and glassmakers give a unique insight into a period of ‘high art’ which would end so abruptly with the arrival of the Mussolini regime.

Musée d'Orsay
1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 75007 Paris
+331 40 49 48 14
Métro 12 Solférino
RER C Musée d'Orsay
Bus 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94

Picture credits: Benh

The Chess Hotel, a chic 4 * hotel close to the Opera Garnier