TILT: (Thu) Paris day 2, part deux -- the Orangerie

After I got tired of the Louvre with all its people and bustle, I went to the Orangerie. This has the largest (and first) set of Monet's lilies in a specially designed two room space that has them all around you, skylit from above. The effect is interesting, but of course having seen some in NYC at the MOMA makes this not quite as impressive. Still, these are very interesting blobs of paint.









Then, below, were some more interesting things. Along with the other obvious modernists like Renoir, Surat, and others, there were two I really hadn't seen before.

First, Durain with this still life of flowers in a vase. Look at the edge of the vase -- this is blurred like a flower too. No hard edge at all. Very interesting. Hope you can see this in the not great photo I could take with my little iPhone. Impressive to see live.




Second, Chaim Soutine -- apparently crazy. But, his art, heavy in reds, was exceptional. This image of a woman just stood out, but he had many others that were expressive and bathed in red shades, as if with blood. Clearly emotional, clearly emoting. Beautiful and powerful.