Paintings in the Musee d'Orsay

Situated in the heart of Paris, the Musée d'Orsay boasts the greatest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in the world, unparalleled in its diversity and quality. Since its opening in 1986 in a spectacularly renovated train station, the museum has welcomed more than 50 million visitors to its collection of works by Bouguereau, Courbet, Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Redon, Whistler, Gauguin, and other artists of the mid-19th century to the early 20th century.

In this deluxe, oversize volume, the museum's director, Serge Lemoine, and his team of curators and specialists examine this extraordinary collection, ranging from the primacy of Academic painting through the shock of Impressionism to the rise of modern art. With 830 full-color illustrations of masterpieces by some of the world's best-loved artists-from Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles to Cézanne's Apples and Oranges-this is the definitive guide to paintings in one of the world's most popular museums. The exhaustive scope of this book and the richness of its imagery make Paintings in the Musée d'Orsay an essential addition to the bookshelves of all lovers of Impressionism and of great art. AUTHOR BIO: Serge Lemoine is director of the Musée d'Orsay and a professor at the Sorbonne. He has published numerous books, articles, and essays, particularly on abstract, Constructivist, and Dadaist art. He has also organized many exhibitions in France and elsewhere.