Honour Nourishes The Arts - Out Of Her Comfort Zone

Day: 18
Km travelled: 8.44km
Steps: 13,195

Honour Nourishes The Arts – Cicero

September 24th, 2017

If you were to ask any foreign visitors to describe France in one word, you would have an assortment of responses that would inevitably include words like culture, tourist, Eiffel, baguette, wine, fashion, cheese, etc. One that might not readily come to mind yet should as it is deeply anchored in French society as a strong and unifying national symbol is honour. Specifically, Legion of Honour (I know, that’s 3 words!).

The ‘Ordre National de la Légion d’honneur’ (National Order of the Legion of Honour) was established in 1802 by Napoleon I and is France’s highest order of merit, for both civilian and military merits. It is one of the world’s most widely recognized decorations, often used as a template in many foreign nations.

On the left bank of the Seine, sits a quiet and often overlooked museum dedicated to the Legion of Honour order as well as other international orders of merits. The ‘Musée national de la Legion d’honneur et des orders de chevalerie’ is a free national museum, created in 1925 and housed in the Hotêl Salm. Did I mention it’s free?

On display, are France’s honours, medals, decorations and chivalric orders, from the era of King Louis XI to the present day. It also has an impression collection of foreign orders. One such order: The Order of Canada. Having not (yet) the opportunity to examine one of the medals up close, it was quite the patriotic thrill to see it displayed here in Paris, so far from its home.

This unassuming little museum deserves a place on any visitor’s agenda (did I mention it’s free? Just checking). Visiting sites that might be considered ‘off the beaten path’ is not only rewarding & enriching, it often reflects the true culture and values of the place versus the image it portrays to visitors. Sometimes, doing things out of your comfort zones means skipping more well-known attractions in order to discover hidden gems!

No visit to ‘La Rive Gauche’ would be complete without a stop next door, at the ‘Musée d’Orsay’! What was previously a railway station (La Gare d’Orsay) has now transformed itself into one of the Europe’s largest museums. Founded in 1986, this impressive structure houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces. Painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne and Van Gogh are all on display under the same roof.

Whenever I find myself lost in a sea of masterpieces, gazing upon works of pure genius and dazzling beauty, I’m struck with a sense of awe and deep reverence. Acknowledging what a privilege this year is, as it’s given me the opportunity to set eyes on so many wonders, I make sure to take my time and absorb every detail I can. Having visited the museum during my last Parisian adventure, I was excited to revise some ‘coup de coeur’ painting and anticipating discovering new ones.

Two of my favourites then and now still. Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Au Nouveau Cirque above, left). A stained glass piece by the French post-impressionist, it’s backlight and appears as if to come to life, with light radiating from the inside out. I so enjoy Vincent Van Gogh’s The Church at Auvers (above, right), with its little northern French church and simple deep blue sky, that a reproduction hung in my home. That is, before I started vagabonding around the world!