Station of

The majestic historicizing building on the left bank of the Seine opposite the royal palace of the Louvre originally served as the Gare d'Orsay railway station for train connections between Paris and Orléans. The railway station, which was created according to the designs of three architects, Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard, and Victor Laloux, was completed in 1900 just before the start of the World Expo (Exposition Universelle). Despite its eclectic face and rich adornment, the station was influenced by the spirit of the industrial era and the architecture of large American stations. The station served as the terminus for many train connections from the southwest of France until 1939. After that date, the short platforms were no longer suitable for the new longer train sets. The station was then only used for suburban services. During World War II, a part of it was transformed into a postal headquarters. In 1945, the station witnessed the return of war prisoners to their homeland. In 1958, it hosted a press conference by Charles de Gaulle upon his return to the head of France. In 1962, Orson Welles filmed Kafka's The Trial here. The station also served as an auction house and a theater. The doors of the station hotel definitively closed on January 1, 1973. In 1977, the French government decided to transform the station into a museum with a permanent collection of French masters from the second half of the 19th century. The postmodern (almost neo-Egyptian) renovation was carried out by the French team ACT and Milanese architect Gae Aulenti. The authors of the project received much criticism for their approach of "prefer contrast to compromise." Critics argued that the station was designed for steam engines and not for paintings or sculptures from the previous century. Anything smaller than a locomotive gets lost in the building and easily blends in.
Despite all the criticism, French President François Mitterrand ceremoniously cut the ribbon of the renovated station on December 1, 1986. The museum's collections mainly feature French art from the period between 1848 and 1914. Besides historical furniture, sculptures, and photographs, the museum is especially renowned for its collection of Impressionist painters. Most of the works were previously exhibited at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume.