Orsay through the Eyes of Julian Schnabel : Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

For its first invitation to a great contemporary artist, the Musée d’Orsay has asked the painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel to give an interpretation of the collection, by presenting, in two of the museum’s historic rooms, a new scenography and a selection of works that have never previously been displayed together.

Julian Schnabel is one of the most important living artists of today. Acclaimed since the beginning of his career in the 1980s, his works can be found in the leading art museums of the world, including the MoMA in New York, the Tate in London and the Pompidou Centre in Paris, which held a solo exhibition of his work in 1987. He is also a leading film director, making films such as Basquiat (1996), Before Night Falls (2000, Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival) and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival).