Our daughter was in Paris the week before us visiting her son. She told us we had to get tickets to see “La Galerie Dior” at the Dior headquarters on 30 Avenue Montaigne, where Christian Dior first set up shop in 1946. He called it a “refuge for the marvelous.” The house of Dior has had an astonishing impact on the world of fashion and their new gallery is a scintillating showcase of 75 years of Marla descends the staircase while admiring the displays.

Nathalie Criniere conceived the amazing La Galerie layout displaying the magical fashion creations beginning with Christian Dior and all the design directors who followed after his death in 1957. Over 1,872 pieces from Dior are arranged in a fascinating construction lining the modernistic curving staircase. The iconic architect Peter Marino worked on the complete building renovations and in my view it is a masterpiece of design.

I loved the color blending of products. The impact is stunning!

Fashionistas of all ages were in abundance admiring all the displays and vignettes.

The designers of the House of Dior include:

Christian Dior (1946 – 1957)

Yves Saint Laurent (1957 – 1960)

Marc Bohan (1960 – 1989)

Gianfranco Ferre’ (1989 – 1997)

John Galliano (1997 – 2011) *He was fired in 2011 for making anti-semitic statements.

Hedi Slimane (2000 – 2006)

Kris Van Assche (2007 – 2018)

Raf Simons (2012 – 2015)

Maria Grazia Chiuri (2016 – today)

Luscious embroidery for a classic gown.

This was one of Marla’s favorites!

We were definitely in a museum of fashion!

Nature meets the world of couture.

Coming from my previous world of decorative fabrics I was taken by this design.

An imaginative vignette.

There is so much to see and admire.

Bold designs by Maria Grazia Chiuri, the current Design Director.

A gorgeous layered display of various designers from the House of Dior.

This is where the master worked back in the 1950’s.

Over the top and Galliano of course!

This was an amazing experience! You may wish to sample the delicacies of the new Dior restaurant and pastry shop on your next visit.

We had 3 hours before a dinner date, so we had to make a strategic decision. We could relax in our hotel room…or head over to 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur for a quick visit at the Musee D’Orsay. You can guess the choice. We had our Paris Museum Passes so no waiting in line!

The Musée d’Orsay is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. We love this period of French artistic creation.

Since time was limited we decided to forgo our favorite painting galleries and instead check out the “Decorative Arts” galleries.

She said, “Let’s get cracking!”

Marla admires “Aurora”, a sculpture by Denys Puech, from 1900.

The astonishing sculptural group,”The Gladiators” has a fascinating story. This first sculpture by the painter Gérôme, long believed to be lost, was used by the artist’s son-in-law, Aimé Morot, himself a painter and sculptor, to pay tribute to Gérôme. Morot portrayed his father-in-law in the process of sculpting “The Gladiators“, and so included the original group in his own composition. The group was first installed in the gardens of the Louvre as a memorial in 1909.

All the sculptures in the “center aisle” of the museum are wonderful.

I have a special fascination with the Art Nouveau movement. The Musee D’Orsay acquired many creations of artists, architects, decorators, sculptors or craftsmen who became the protagonists of Art Nouveau throughout Europe from the 1890s. These galleries beautifully display a rare complete wood paneled room by Alexandre Charpentier (1856-1909).

His Art Nouveau paneled room takes my breath away with their sensuous undulating flower forms. This collection of panels and furniture remained relatively unknown until it was dismantled and bought by the ‘future’ Musee d’Orsay which opened in 1986. Until then, it had never been shown to the public. It was originally commissioned by Adrien Benard (1846 – 1912) for the dining room of his villa in Champrosay. This banker was one of the patrons of the Art Nouveau artists, and it was under his directorship that the “Compagnie du Métropolitain Parisien” chose Hector Guimard to design the fabulous entrances to the underground railway, or the Metro.

An interesting wood chair I believe made by Galle.

Marla and I both loved this painting by James Tissot, “Evening, Le Bal.” (1878), which was displayed in one of the Decorative Art galleries.

“Dance”…a very sensual sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827 – 1875).

A bust of Victor Hugo by Auguste Rodin, 1883. Our visit to Hugo’s amazing home in exile on island of Guernsey will post in the future.

There is so much to see in the Musee d’Orsay! Marla and I will return to visit more of our favorite galleries in the future.

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.