{"id":10317,"date":"2021-02-05T11:27:14","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T11:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiqets-blog-staging.local\/best-modern-art-museums-in-the-world\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T08:48:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T08:48:30","slug":"best-modern-art-museums-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/best-modern-art-museums-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The 14 Best Modern Art Museums in the World","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2013<\/em>\u00a0This post was written by\u00a0Callum Tyler<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2013<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all, what is modern art, and why do you need to know the best modern art museums in the world? Let\u2019s take a step back in time to Paris during France\u2019s Second Empire\u2026 Napoleon III has taken up his uncle\u2019s mantle and he\u2019s busy broadening Paris\u2019 boulevards, helping to create some of the beauty the city is renowned for. Things are sailing smoothly, then bam! The notorious \u00c9douard Manet, shows off his latest work \u2013 a naked woman having lunch on the grass with a couple of friends. Something must have been in the water that year, because two thirds of entries to the Acad\u00e9mie des Beaux-Arts premiere art event, the Salon, were rejected alongside Manet\u2019s work. Enter the Salon des Refus\u00e9s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, rather than grab the guillotine, the new emperor decided to set up an alternate Salon to present society\u2019s more radical art. While Manet\u2019s piece has all the elements of what we might view as classical art today, his painting was groundbreaking at the time. Not only for the scandal it caused \u2013 although it certainly got its due attention at the Salon des Refus\u00e9s \u2013 but for its radical transitions between light and dark elements in the picture, rather than using gradations between tones. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo by Callum Tyler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After the success of the Salon des Refus\u00e9s, the floodgates opened, and by the next century we had the wig-wearing, off-beat Andy Warhol dominating the art scene. Which leads nicely to number one on our list of the best Modern Art Museums in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. See where it all began in the Mus\u00e9e d’Orsay<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s kick things off chronologically (and controversially). It might not fit the bill of what you think of as a modern art museum, for example, there isn\u2019t any contemporary art in the halls of the Orsay \u2013 but it does go back to where it all began. Manet\u2019s Le D\u00e9jeuner sur l’herbe<\/em> is located on the museum\u2019s top floor, surrounded by countless other masterpieces that helped kickstart movements like Impressionism and post-Impressionism.

Before you start your grand tour of the world\u2019s largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works, head to the top floor and make a beeline for the museum\u2019s grand old clock. A relic of the Orsay\u2019s days as a train station from 1900-1936, the clock holds onto its turn-of-the-century charm. With so much charm, it\u2019s not a surprise that everyone wants a photo with it. It\u2019s like retroactive installation art; those train station designers didn\u2019t know what the next century held, but they created a multi-functional masterpiece without realising it. Don\u2019t be surprised to find people queuing to snap a photo in front of it \u2013 if you\u2019re planning on doing that, get there at opening time and make your way to the clock first so you can move on to enjoying the real star attractions.

Stars of the turn of the last century abound inside what is arguably one of the best art galleries in the world \u2013 the Mus\u00e9e d’Orsay. There\u2019s a particularly impressive collection of Van Gogh\u2019s works, including Starry Night Over the Rh\u00f4ne<\/em>, The Siesta<\/em>, self-portraits, and Van Gogh\u2019s Room in Arles<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo by Callum Tyler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If you want to admire some of the most acclaimed artworks in the world \u2013 modern or otherwise \u2013 then the Orsay Museum is a must if you\u2019re in Paris. Make sure you stop and see Bal du Moulin de la Galette<\/em> by Renoir, Olympia<\/em> by Manet, and Monet\u2019s interpretation of London\u2019s Houses of Parliament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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