Hanging

A new perspective on the city

From March 31st to July 09th, 2023
dessin, Marcellin Varcollier, Caserne des Célestins à Paris, vue prise à vol d'oiseau, en 1877
Marcellin Varcollier
Caserne des Célestins à Paris, vue prise à vol d'oiseau, en 1877
Musée d'Orsay
Don Mmes Laure et Marguerite Varcollier, 1980
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
See the notice of the artwork
From tethered balloons to the first airplane flights, aeronautical inventions have opened up new perspectives on the city. This exhibition shows the evolution of the way we look at the city, which was enriched by all the arts: photography, painting, engraving and architectural drawing.

In 1858, Félix Nadar took the first aerial photographs from the basket of a balloon, west of Paris. For a long time the preserve of a few aeronauts, this new view of the city became available to everyone thanks to Henry Giffard’s tethered balloons, which allowed visitors to the Universal Exhibitions to take flight. During the 1878 Exhibition, thousands of people discovered the panorama of Paris from the gondola of the huge aerostat moored in the Tuileries.

 

Revealing an unprecedented perspective on the capital, the ascents and aerial photographs caused a shift in the way people looked at the city. Appearing as early as 1855 with Victor Navlet’s spectacular Vue générale de Paris, prise de l’Observatoire, this change of perspective soon made its mark on urban architecture. Helped by the rise of aviation, the emancipation of the gaze became a form of artistic modernity and a new way of imagining the city. Explored by painters and photographers, the bird’s eye view was a favourite subject of the avant-garde.

Sunday
9.30am - 6.00pm

Monday
Closed

Tuesday
9.30am - 6.00pm

Wednesday
9.30am - 6.00pm

Thursday
9.30am - 9.45pm

Friday
9.30am - 6.00pm

Saturday
9.30am - 6.00pm

Musée d'Orsay
Map & itinerary
Tarifs
Time slot full rate
€16
Time slot reduced rate
€13
Enfant & Cie
€13
Nocturne rate
€12
-18 year olds, -26 year old residents of the EEA
Free

Exhibition artworks