France: Musee des Beaux Arts Nancy

We were greeted as we walked into this museum by the monumental "Le Devouerment Du Chevalier de Desilles" by LeBarbier. It is a huge historical work that will certainly get your attention with its realistic brutality. The lighting in the main gallery is wonderful, there is a great deal of natural lighting and the hanging of the pictures is particularly attractive. A lot of open space and the pictures are at eye level make for a very pleasant experience. 

#museedesbeauxartsnancy

In the first gallery, the paintings are mostly French and are hung in chronological order. A tablet in each room written in English makes it easier to enjoy. I was drawn to a painting by Emile Friant called 'La Toussaint" which is amazingly like a photo. It shows a family in the foreground in mourning, walking by a beggar as they go to the cemetery, while behind a wall you see the burial about to begin. it is a moment frozen in time for us to observe. To see the many ways of suffering in this life, poverty, and death. The beggar holds his cup, the family a large bouquet of flowers. A very thought-provoking picture.

Many of the paintings in the French section are not ones that I am familiar with. There is a nice Manet, of his lover Mery Laurent in a Worth gown against a Japanese flower background. On the second floor, they have an excellent Renaissance section with a very effective presentation. the walls are dark blue and show off the rich colors of the paintings beautifully. Here you will find Tintoretto, Joos Van Cleeve, Jan Brueghel and the Savior of the World from the shop of Leonardo da Vinci. Also Rubens, Caravaggio, and Phillipe de Campagne.

What we remember most, however, was called Infiniti Mirror Rom "Fireflies on the Water"  by Japanese artist Yoyoi Kusami. This is a piece of art that you become part of. You walk into a room and close the door. You are standing on a platform, surrounded by water and the walls are mirrors. Hung from the ceiling are colored lights. You do feel like the colored lights go on forever. We called it a 60's "good trip". Check out the photo I took, it's quite amazing.

Additional reading: Other Museums in Nancy