For its fortieth anniversary, the Musée d'Orsay is opening its architectural studio to Richard Peduzzi, Patrice Chéreau's set designer, who built the model of the Opéra Garnier displayed at the back of the nave, from October 6, 2026, to January 17, 2027.

We've walked past it a hundred times without noticing. At the back of the nave of the Musée d'Orsay, the Opéra Garnier fits in a display case, surrounded by Haussmann's Paris. The model is by Richard Peduzzi, set designer for Patrice Chéreau, who built it for the museum's opening. For its fortieth anniversary, the Musée d'Orsay is giving him its architectural studio: paintings, drawings, sculptures, models, haunted by three obsessions: walls, towers, ruins.

It was these architectural styles that transformed the 1970s scene, from The Massacre in Paris to Lulu, and that taught the theater how to perform in front of stone. Here, they respond to works by Viollet-le-Duc, Le Bas, and Eiffel, drawn from the museum's collections. The set design held the walls together.

On the same day, the museum opens its Mary Cassatt retrospective: a visit that offers two exhibitions. See also our list of the top new exhibitions in Paris.

MUSÉE D'ORSAY
October 6, 2026 to January 17, 2027
Esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 75007 Paris - Metro: Solférino (Line 12), RER C: Musée d'Orsay
Open daily. Except Mondays 9:30 a.m.–6 p.m., Thursdays until 9:45 p.m.

Price: €16 - Reduced price: €11 - Free for under 18s

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