# ID a painting from the Musee d'Orsay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-painting-from-the-musee-dorsay/652682 "2013-03-12T05:36:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-painting-from-the-musee-dorsay/652682/1 "2013-03-12T05:36:22Z")
I just got back from Paris and one major part of my trip was my visit to the _Musee d’Orsay_. On my hurried exit, I saw a painting for a few seconds that made a huge impression on me, but I couldn’t find it when I went back the next day. Seems to me it was with either the Neo-impressionists or Orientalists; possibly it was neither. The painting, about six by nine feet, featured three walking middle-eastern men (the Magi?) walking from left to right. Very stylized and almost cartoony, their robes (and headdresses) looked like pieces of the actual brightly colored fabric they represented, _a la_ Klimt, although the faces were very un-Klimtlike, almost black silhouettes. The robes trailed behind them, looking a bit like triangular sails, bright red/blue/purple with golden circles on them. The dark background was either mountains or triangular-looking tents. Can anybody identify this painting from this description? I would guess it was late 19th-early 20th Century by a European artist. ---
**Author:** ![MickNickMaggies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/59ef9b/32.png) [@MickNickMaggies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MickNickMaggies)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-painting-from-the-musee-dorsay/652682/2 "2013-03-12T10:25:31Z")
Painting itself doesn’t sound familiar, but you can look through their holdings online. If you’re sure it was the Musee d’Orsay, because I know when I go to Paris I always hit up a few museums, try starting here- [Musée d'Orsay](http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/index-of-works/home.html) Unless, of course, it was something visiting. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-painting-from-the-musee-dorsay/652682/3 "2013-03-12T17:10:22Z")
I have a rather weighty tome of art at the Musee d’Orsay, but that particular piece is not in there. I’d suggest looking at the Orientalism era with artists like Guillaumet, Fromentin, or Dehodencq (who did such stylized things as [this](https://www.google.com/search?q=dehodencq&hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1C1PRFB_enUS488US488&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=LGA_Ueb0Joi6qQGk24GgDg&ved=0CEMQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=925#imgrc=cYZkm09oP8tkvM%3A%3Bdf8AbsVLzEd9nM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.chinaoilpainting.com%252Fupload1%252Ffile-admin%252Fimages%252Fnew12%252FAlfred%252520Dehodencq-242382.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.chinaoilpainting.com%252Fhtmlimg%252Fimage-39984.htm%3B572%3B800)) etc., as it seems to fit in that category rather than in the traditional impressionism that the museum is known for. Or just Google “orientalism in art” and browse the bazillion images they have to find it. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Made_French_Toast_For_You)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-painting-from-the-musee-dorsay/652682/4 "2013-03-12T17:35:45Z")
[Vittorio Zecchin](http://thebluelantern.blogspot.com/2012/06/vittorio-zecchin-artist-of-venice.html)? The bottom image on the page looks similar to what you describe. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-painting-from-the-musee-dorsay/652682/5 "2013-03-12T17:36:50Z")
> [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](#): > > [Vittorio Zecchin](http://thebluelantern.blogspot.com/2012/06/vittorio-zecchin-artist-of-venice.html)? The bottom image on the page looks similar to what you describe. Boy, was I way off. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-painting-from-the-musee-dorsay/652682/6 "2013-03-12T23:29:46Z")
> [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](#): > > [Vittorio Zecchin](http://thebluelantern.blogspot.com/2012/06/vittorio-zecchin-artist-of-venice.html)? The bottom image on the page looks similar to what you describe. Nailed it! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-painting-from-the-musee-dorsay/652682/7 "2013-03-13T04:43:27Z")
> [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](#): > > [Vittorio Zecchin](http://thebluelantern.blogspot.com/2012/06/vittorio-zecchin-artist-of-venice.html)? The bottom image on the page looks similar to what you describe. Impressive, Just under 12 hours.