Museum sketchbook

When we visit Parisian museums, the Louvre or the Musée Branly, we are obviously drawn by their sumptuous collections but we also discover the museums themselves, special places with a special magic emanating from the works themselves, but also from their architecture and light and the visitors they attract. Françoise Baume paid a visit to some of the capitals most famous museums to take in their galleries, classes and gardens, carefully observing the crowds thronging around the Impressionists in the Musée d'Orsay, or the statues adorning in the grounds of the former Hôtel Biron, now the Rodin Museum, or the contemporary works at the Pompidou Centre. Within their walls styles mingle and epochs merge; nearly five thousand years of history is contained within the museums along the Left and Right banks of Paris. Françoise Baume concentrated on capturing the moment in situ and then added colour in the cairn of her workshop, where she used watercolours enhanced by white gouache to create the effects of light. Her sensitive work brings its own personal charm and recreates the atmosphere of her visits.