I love the small museums of Paris; the Orangerie, located in the Tuilleries, has two fantastic oval rooms with Monet’s Water Lily canvases surrounding you. Another favorite small Paris museum is the Marmottan, a former estate that now houses a treasure trove of impressionist paintings, including Monet’s painting that gave Impressionism its name: Impression Sunrise. On our recent trip to Paris, we visited – for the first time- the Musee du Luxembourg. This small museum is located on the perimeter of the Luxembourg Gardens -another Paris must-see.
The Musee du Luxembourg’s latest exhibit (Until August 2nd, 2009) Filippo et Filippino Lippi. La Renaissance in Prato is just stunning. It shows the works of Filippo and his son Filipino Lippi and other artists of the XV-XVI century. Among those artists are Donatello, Monaco,and Botticelli. The exhibition brings together some fifty paintings and sculptures created between the 14th and the 16th century, (many of which had never been been out of Italy). Those works come from the Prato City Museum, housed in the Pretorio Palace, now closed for refurbishment, as well as from other institutions of the same region.
The Lippis, Filippo (Florence, ca. 1406 – Spoleto, 1469) and his son Filippino (Prato, ca. 1457 – Florence, 1504), were among the most respected artists in 15th-century Prato. Interestingly, Filippo Lippi was chaplain to the convent of Santa Margherita in Prato. He was also a debaucher, as Filippino was born of Filippo’s scandalous union with a nun, Lucrezia Buti; both were released from their vows through the intervention of Lippi’s mentor, Cosimo de Medici.
The Lippi exhibit is stunning with its vivid colors that have not faded through time, and the beauty conveyed in the faces of the saints and angels depicted in the mostly religious scenes.
From September the 16th to January the 10th, an exhibition devoted to Louis C. Tiffany will be on display at the Luxembourg museum.
Before or after your visit, be sure to stop at the Cafe Medici for lunch or simply a cup of coffee. The atmosphere inside is cozy and comfortable, but when the weather turns warm, you can enjoy your meal outside.
Musée du Luxembourg
19 rue de Vaugirard
75006 Paris
Métro Ligne 4 (Odeon), Ligne 10 (Mabillon),
RER B (Luxembourg)
Advanced on-line booking
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