L'Atelier des Lumières: Van Gogh Starry Night Exhibit

Recently, I wrote about my experience visiting the Louvre museum. After writing my review on a more well-known museum, I thought I would take the time to review a slightly less well-known museum that I recently visited.

Located in Paris, the Van Gogh Starry Night exhibit at the L'Atelier des Lumières offers an experience that is a lot different than the typical art museum. Before I went to this exhibit, the only thing that I knew about it was that it was a light show featuring Van Gogh's paintings. As a fan of Van Gogh and out-of-the-ordinary experiences, I decided to give it a go.

Tickets are 14,50€ for adults or 11,50€ for students. Just like for the Louvre, I recommend buying your tickets online before you visit so you are guaranteed an entry and you do not have to wait in line at the museum.  

The exhibit itself is one large room with columns and walls in the middle. Unlike ordinary art museums, visitors do not walk around looking at each individual painting. Instead, visitors are presented with a multi-sensory show. Images from Van Gogh's most popular works including The Potato Eaters, Sunflowers, Starry Night, and Bedroom at Arles are projected onto the walls, ceiling, and floor and are animated to music. 

When I arrived, I was confused as to what I was supposed to do: was I supposed to walk around the whole room during the show, or simply sit in one place and watch? I came to the conclusion that there was no right way to go about this exhibit. I ended up exploring the space and then finding a seat to sit and watch Van Gogh's art come to life in the room. 

There are three shows in total that each run around 10 minutes on a loop, so if you miss one of them you don't have to wait long to see it again. There are also other artists represented including famous Japanese artist Hokusai.

My favorite part about this exhibit was watching all of the children interact with the art. When Hokusai's painting Wave came to life and the fish were jumping out of the water, the kids watching would run up to the wall to try to grab the fish and run along the floor to follow their path as they swam.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Van Gogh Starry Night exhibit because it presented art in a unique way by giving movement to typically stationary art and it was truly engaging for all ages. 

The exhibition runs through December 2019. However, the museum space has rotating exhibits so whatever artist is represented next will surely be a memorable experience as well.

The Louvre

The Louvre, one of the most well-known museums in France, is generally recognized by its triangular exterior. Besides its unique exterior, it is known for famous works of art such as the Venus de Milo and of course, the Mona Lisa.

When I visited the Louvre, my friends and I bought tickets online the night before we went, which I highly recommend, because there was a long line to buy tickets once we entered the museum.

The museum was so much larger than I anticipated, so I advise having a plan once you arrive. We spent about two hours there and barely covered half of it. I have also heard of people who have planned out their whole day just to see all of the paintings and sculptures in the museum.

Even though we had a map of the museum, we had a very hard time trying to find the areas we wanted to go to because it is such a large space. At one point, we were trying to find the Mona Lisa, and despite asking several museum workers, it took us over 20 minutes of getting lost in the maze that is the Louvre before we finally found it.

I expected the Mona Lisa to be my favorite piece of art in the museum, but in actuality, it was fairly small and many people were crowded around it. If you go to the Louvre, you should stop by and take a quick picture of the Mona Lisa, but I suggest spending more time in the less popular sections.

For me, one of the most enjoyable parts of the museum is the glass covered sculpted courtyards. This exhibit features several marble statues and has a glass ceiling, which adds natural light and brightens the room. This light and open space is a refreshing change of pace from the typical walls of paintings that one would expect to see in an art museum.

Another exhibit that I enjoyed was the Napoleon III Apartments. This exhibit showcases “apartments” of the 1800s, and it was amazing to walk through the extravagant rooms which were decorated with golden walls and huge chandeliers. It also features beautiful painted ceilings and ornate furniture.

If you decide to go to the Louvre, I suggest having one of two mindsets: either go in with a couple of hours to spare without a plan, knowing that you will likely get lost, but in the process you will discover many unique pieces of art. Or, go in having studied the map and knowing what specific exhibits you want to prioritize seeing. That way, you can maximize your time looking at the exhibits, and minimize the time spent trying to make sense of the map while in the museum.

Either way, I recommend visiting the Louvre, as you are sure to stumble upon some magnificent works of art no matter what your taste may be.