Did somebody say d'orsay?

The Musée d'orsay, a beautiful art museum filled with some of the most famous and timeless works, has always been a place on my Paris bucket list. When I discovered that it was one of the programs excursions, I could not be more excited! Along with the best excursion director Jeff, Yesenia, Hunter, and Jessica, I was off to the museum with the highest expectations and enticement.
Walking into the museum was a special experience of its own. Jeff had said that the museum building was originally a train station, and this was very easy to picture from the arc shape of the building and giant clock that was on one end. The building itself was so beautiful from the first glance and I knew that this experience would be so fun. With different sections by type of art on each side of the main alleyway, we began our journey through the early impressionist art. The paintings were breathtaking, each telling their own unique story in different periods of time. I was amazed by the attention to detail and shadings of each painting, and could only imagine how long it had taken the painter to create such masterpieces.
After exploring the amazing art downstairs, we ascended to the upper floor to see what I had been longing to see since childhood; the work of Monet and Van Gogh. It is such a surreal experience when you have seen pictures of famous paintings throughout your life, but when you can actually see the work and detail in person it is unreal. I loved to see the work of Monet and Van Gogh, feeling though I had been transported back into time.
My favorite painting throughout the museum was actually one that I had never previously seen or heard about before. It is called "La Rue Montorgueil," by Claude Monet. Claude Monet is one of the most famous French impressionist painters, who in fact was the reason for the term "impressionism," after his painting "Impression.". He was most famous for his nature and landscape paintings. This specific painting is filled with beautiful french flags flying on La rue montorgueil street in celebration of peace and work. I really loved the way the painting conveyed happiness and the pride of the french of their countries flag. Monet's attention to detail makes the painting come to life, as if the flags are really moving and a celebration is taking place.
It is really neat to examine art in regards to Francis Schaeffer's standard of judgement. These standards of looking at the technical excellence, validity, world view, and the suitability of form to content, are a great tool to examine a painting's true meaning and purpose behind it. He states that all of these must be taken in together, which is a good point when examining each aspect. I will definitely consider these things when I go to

the louvre, and take more time to examine the most famous works of art that Paris has to offer.