Musée de l'Orangerie

The Musée de l'Orangerie, located in the west corner of the Tuileries Garden next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris, is a renowned art gallery housing impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. The gallery is most famous for being the permanent home of eight large Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet. It also contains works by other celebrated artists like Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and more. The Orangerie was built in 1852 by Napoleon III to protect the citrus trees of the Tuileries garden from winter cold. After the fall of the Empire in 1870, the Orangerie became a property of the State and was used for public events and art expositions. In 1921, the building was given to the Under-Secretariat of State for Fine Arts to display works of living artists. The Water Lilies donation to the Orangerie was finalized in 1922, with Monet himself assisting in the architectural design of the display. The museum underwent several renovations and changes over the years, including the addition of the Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collections in the 1960s. The most recent renovation between 2000 and 2006 restored natural light to the Water Lilies and created new spaces for the Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collection. Today, the Orangerie continues to host art exhibitions, concerts, and other events, offering visitors a rich cultural experience.