Live and learn.

I had not planned on visiting Musee D’Orsay this time in Paris.

Purchases in advance were for the Picasso and Fondation Vuitton along with the Bourse and Hotel de la Marine.

By chance, the D’Orsay is free the first Sunday of every month so I tackled the website and, voila, I secured 2 freebies on Sunday morning at 9:30.

The two mile walk was scenic and we arrived as the heavens opened and weeped at our arrival.

The D’Orsay is truly a gorgeous building. We were the first time period alloted in and headed to the featured Edward Munch exhibit.

I quickly learned that the artist was not just about The Scream, but also a gifted portrait artist and a patron of the theater.

Here are a few examples:

Next was my favorite Impressionist exhibit on the 5th floor which also provides an amazing overview of the museum and the outside world.

The Degas sculpture is a personal favorite and reminds me of Queen E. as she was a ballet dancer and papier mache artist who often sculpted ballet figures.

Heading out after 2 hours of visual pleasure I passed by two enormous sculptures and a massive painting.

The artist’s name rang a bell and then I realized that Kehinde Wiley was the artist President Obama called upon to paint his official portrait for the National Portrait Gallery.

Wiley is known to incorporate Baroque and Neoclassical painting while examining themes of race, class, gender, and power.

The sheer size and magnitude of his work displayed at the D’Orsay is overwhelming both physically and emotionally.

His subjects are often unknown members oppressed because of the color of their skin.

Wiley depicts them in these dominant poses, often adopting famous compositions from the history of western painting and statuary.

The works exhibited here, which were unveiled at the Venice Biennale in the spring, mark a new direction by showcasing anonymous recumbent figures in the manner of fallen heroes dressed in Louis Vuitton.

It was exciting to spend a morning being enlightened and educated.