Being an Art Nerd: Day 2 - Sainte Chapelle and Musee d'Orsay

Happy Saturday, friends!  Today, we finished out our art tour with Saint Chapelle and the Musee d'Orsay.

First stop was Sainte Chapelle.  It is located on the Ile de la Cite, one of the islands in the Seine.  Notre Dame is also on this island, and it is very easy to do both of them in the same day.  However, Sainte Chapelle is much smaller inside than Notre Dame, so the queue for entry takes longer.  Therefore, we went back early this morning and got in with the first round of people.

Sainte Chapelle was built by Louis IX (now St. Louis) to house the relics of the Passion of the Christ he had acquired, including Christ's crown of thorns.  Today, they can be seen in Notre Dame.  The royal family also worshiped here.

On the outside, Sainte Chapelle is not much to look at when compared to Notre Dame.  It was built relatively quick in about 8 years, compared to the 200 years for Notre Dame's construction.  As a result of the quick construction, the exterior is nothing particularly special, in my opinion.  But don't let the exterior deceive you.  The inside's where all the excitement is...

The exterior of Sainte Chapelle

Beautiful stained glass interior

Pretty incredible, huh?  Each panel of stained glass down the side depicts different Old Testament books - Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Job, Esther and Kings.  My pictures don't even begin to do these windows justice.

Cain and Abel

The lamps for the Lord's temple

The windows directly over the alter depict the life and passion of Christ, and the rose window directly over the doors shows the apocalypse.

Passion of the Christ and the alter

Rose window depicting the Apocalypse

Christ as the Returning King at the Apocalypse

 After finishing our visit at Sainte Chapelle, we went to the Musee d'Orsay.  It is the museum that houses lots of Impressionist paintings and lots of wonderful sculptures.  The building is an old train station right across the River Seine from the Louvre.

Below are some of my favorites, but I didn't spend much time taking pictures of the paintings.  Oh, and Luncheon on the Grass is included below, so the following are slightly not-safe-for-work...

Girls at the Piano by Pierre-Auguste Renoir 

In later life, Renoir had developed severe rheumatoid arthritis, so it was very painful for him to paint and hold brushes.  So, he literally taped the brushes to his hands.

Blue Waterlilies by Claude Monet

Country Dance (L) and City Dance (R) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

14-year old ballerina by Edgar Degas

Degas was accused of using a taxidermied body and covering it in bronze due to the realism of the sculpture.  Additionally, the realism of the sculpture also showed the toll dancing took on the body.

Luncheon on the Grass by Edward Manet

This painting was rejected by the Parisian Salon (fancy schmancy art exhibition).

Self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh

The Church at Auvers by Vincent Van Gogh

For my Doctor Who friends, there was no alien in the painting... :D