French museums... le Louvre et le Musée d’Orsay

Despite the shelter in place orders in France and in many countries around the world, it is still possible for children, teenagers, and adults to carry on taking part in the French and Francophone cultural life. In Paris, the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre are closed, but you can visit these two famous museums through the following article, thanks to virtual tours, videos, audio recordings, and more!

Le Musée du Louvre, Paris

This is the former residence of the French kings, and the world’s largest art museum 

For children and adults

• “Questions d’enfants” (“Through Children’s Eyes”)

Watch short videos where specialists from the Louvre museum answer children's questions about one of its works of art. You can choose the video according to your French level, because they are made for Francophone children of 5, 10, and 11 years-old. They are interesting for both children and adults, the vocabulary is technical but the French is spoken slowly. 

https://www.louvre.fr/questions-enfants 

• “Oeuvres à la loupe” (“A Closer Look”)

The Louvre houses some of the most famous works of art in the world. You can examine the little details of the art pieces with a zoom tool, and read or listen to commentaries, as if you were on a guided tour of the museum. You don’t need to have a good level of French, as you can follow the visuals.

https://www.louvre.fr/oal (French version)

https://www.louvre.fr/en/oal (English version)

Le Musée d’Orsay, Paris

This national museum features occidental art and a huge number of impressionist paintings

For children and teenagers

• “Les Petits M’O”

This website is made for children and teenagers between 5 and 18 years old, and lets them discover the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie. Follow Pompom the bear and Lily the frog in a digital tour, where you can find more than 100 works of art, short articles about artists, virtual exhibitions on various topics... The website is really well made and easy to navigate, and you don’t need to have a good level of French to enjoy it. You can also find podcasts that last between 6 and 11 minutes, told by children, that are imaginary stories inspired by the museums’ works of art.

https://www.petitsmo.fr/

Masterpieces, artists, and thematic exhibitions: https://www.petitsmo.fr/les-oeuvres 

Podcasts: https://www.petitsmo.fr/au-pays-des-monstres 
https://www.petitsmo.fr/promenades-imaginaires 

For adults

• Art catalog

As an adult, you can also discover the Musée d’Orsay’s collection by searching an artist, a place, character, or topic, in this browser. You can find commentary on masterpieces in various languages.

https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/collections/catalogue-des-oeuvres/ (French version)

https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/index-of-works/home.html?cHash=1030a57d48 (English version)

• Commentary for blind and partially-sighted individuals

https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/espace-particuliers/particuliers/accessibilite/deficience-visuelle/ressources/parcours-audiodescriptif.html 

We hope these selections will entertain you and keep you feeling connected to the outside world during the shelter-in-place orders. 

These selections were part of our first cultural newsletter, on April 3rd 2020. If you want to subscribe to receive our upcoming newsletters, send an email to pauline@afwestchesterny.org. 

Take care and stay safe,

L’Équipe de l’Alliance Française du Westchester