Paris museums...

While I hope to check out a few museums during my time in Paris, my friends generally always mention the obvious ones.  And while I'll probably try and go back to the Louvre, and the Musée d'Orsay is high on the list, the one museum I'm really keen to visit is a little off the normal tourist 'must do' list - the Musée Marmottan Monet.

The museum, which most of you have probably never heard of, actually houses the largest Monet collection in the world including:

Houses of Parliament (source)

Nymphéas 1915 (source)

Nympheas (source)

Nymphéas, reflets de saule (source)

While I'm definitely not someone who knows a lot about art, I know that I like the impressionist and post-impressionist style. So I'm really excited to see this collection of over 300 works by Monet and other artist including Degas, Sisley, Pissarro, Gauguin, Signac and Renoir.

This somewhat obscure museum owes it's impressive Monet collection to Claude's son, Michel, who inherited his famous father's paintings after his death in December 1926.  Sadly the collection was never displayed and instead kept in his family home, except for the times when Michel sold off a painting for a bit of a cash injection.  In 1966, Michel passed away and he respected one of his father's last wishes that the remaining collection would not be left to the French Government, which certainly turned out to be very bad news for the Louvre (as yes, you guessed, it's owned by the Government). So the collection was instead left to the Musée Marmottan Monet.

The museum is located in the 16th arrondissement, and I'm sure I'll enjoy a few hours there during my time in Paris.

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