The Musée d’Orsay houses several hundred pastels produced between 1850 and 1914. Among them are several masterpieces by the greatest pastellists of the period: Millet, Manet, Degas, Redon and Lévy-Dhurmer….

Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) La femme au puits Vers 1866 © RMN (Musée d’Orsay) / Jean-Gilles Berizzi


The 19th century was the time of renaissance and constant revolution in the history of the pastel.

Pastel is a solidified, coloured powder, which first appeared in the 15th century. The pastel stick is made by blending ground, dry pigment with a little clean water containing clay or chalk, and with a binder (gum Arabic is often used). The resulting paste is then drained using a cloth, before being cut up, whilst still damp, into sticks, which are then allowed to dry naturally. At first, pastel was used to give extra colour to black chalk, sanguine chalk and silverpoint portraits, but gradually pastel became established in its own right.

Although limited at first, more colours gradually appeared. With the arrival of synthetic colours in the mid-nineteenth century, the range increased considerably. As a technique for dry colouring, pastel requires a slightly rough textured support to provide a “tooth”. However, the adhesion to the support is fragile, so the best way to protect it is to place it under glass, avoiding any direct contact.

William Degouve de Nuncques (1867-1935) Nocturne au Parc Royal de Bruxelles © RMN (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

In the 1840s and 1850s, a new generation of artists aspired to represent all aspects of society. It was now just as acceptable to use peasants and workers as subjects, as saints or mythological heroes. Manet’s pastels offer a sometimes neglected aspect of his work, and Edgar Degas, for his part, brings an observant view of modern life, both in his pastels and in his paintings. He would bury himself in the wings of a theatre, in small shops, or in some corner of a flat…

Henri Gervex (1852-1929) Dieppe © RMN (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

In the 1880s, a thriving Naturalist movement appeared in the wake of the Impressionists. Many painters now worshipped at the altar of nature and of verisimilitude. Shortly after, whilst Impressionists and Naturalists were increasingly exhibiting their work, those on the path towards Symbolism were moving in a different direction. They were obsessed by the ideal and aspired to express their feelings, their dreams and their passions.

Odilon Redon (1840-1916) Le char d’Apollon © RMN (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

Then came “The Abstract Line” of Odilon Redon. He produced his first pastels in 1880, but it was in the 1890s that colour became important in his work. Linked to the Symbolist movement, Redon’s art evokes a world imbued with intense spirituality, and is drawn from a landscape of dreams.

Here’s all the essential information for the Mystery and Glitter exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay

When: from 8th October 2008 to 1st February 2009
Where: Musée d’Orsay, 1, rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75005 Paris. Métro Solferino (line 12) or RER C station Musée d’Orsay, or bus n°s 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94 (map here)
Opening hours: open every day except Mondays from 9.30am to 6pm (9.45pm on Thursdays). Closed Xmas Day and 1st January
Admission: It’s gone up! 9.50 euros (including the permanent exhibition). Concessions: 5.50 euros. Free entrance in certain cases
Official museum site: here
More information about the exhibition : here.