The Jacquemart-André Museum is considered to be one of the “smaller” museums here and is now open again…with masks, social distancing, and hand sanitizer required, bien sûr.
The larger museums including the Louvre and the Pompidou Center will gradually reopen in about a month. We had free reign of the former private mansion this morning, as we were among the first visitors. It was thrilling to move freely from one room to another, completely undisturbed.
The current headline show focuses on the renowned landscape painter and water-colorist J.M.W. Turner, and it is marvelous. The early water-colors were particularly surprising, since they show an intimate, Romantic style one doesn’t think of when they are dwarfed by the genius of his stunning oil paintings of sunsets and seascapes that first come to mind. I’ll gradually add a few in the comments.
Not only was the Turner exhibit worth the trip, but what a joy to see again this unique permanent collection displayed in those vast, gilded reception rooms, with the elaborate double staircases, the stunning fresco murals by Tiepolo, so many remarkable Florentine pieces (with a bust of Michelangelo), Sienese painted statues; low-relief religious sculptures from the Renaissance; portraits by the Dutch painters; and masterpieces of French paintings by Greuze, Fragonard, Boucher…
I do hope that other cultural news will soon follow, as this country finally exits the psychological trauma of an intensive care unit.