The Gare d'Orsay train station, designed by French architect Victor Laloux, opened in Paris in 1900 to much fanfare. In fact, it was so beautiful that the French painter Eduoard Detaille felt it would be more appropriate as a museum. Eighty-six years later, after a complex and controversial decision-making process, the French government finally transformed the station into the Musee d'Orsay, now one of the most dramatic and popular museums in Paris. This concise book presents the fascinating history of the creation of the Musee d'Orsay and the battles among the prominent politicians, curators, and historians over the architecture, collections, and concept of the museum.

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