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Paris Glossary

Paris Glossary

The words, places and institutions that come up when you plan a trip to Paris, explained in plain language. Each entry says what it is, why it matters and what to do about it.

120 terms

Tickets and access

Tickets and access Audio-guide add-on A separately booked interpretation service added to admission rather than automatically included with the museum... Tickets and access Combined admission ticket One ticket covering more than one collection, exhibition or institution under stated validity rules. Tickets and access Free admission Entry without an admission charge, sometimes limited by age, residency, time or reservation conditions. Tickets and access Gallery clearance The period before official closing when staff begin directing visitors out of galleries. Tickets and access Guided-tour ticket A booking for a scheduled guided visit that may be separate from the museum admission required to enter. Tickets and access Last admission The final time visitors are admitted, which is earlier than the museum's closing time. Tickets and access Mobile voucher A digital confirmation displayed on a phone, which may be the admission credential or may need exchange for a ticket. Tickets and access Museum ticket office The official point of sale operated by or for the institution, online or at the venue. Tickets and access Nocturne opening A regular or special evening when a museum stays open later than its usual daytime schedule. Tickets and access Paris Museum Pass A multi-site sightseeing pass covering admission to participating museums and monuments for a chosen validity period. Tickets and access Priority access A managed entry lane for eligible ticket holders that still remains subject to capacity and security controls. Tickets and access Proof of eligibility An official document showing that a visitor qualifies for free or reduced admission. Tickets and access Re-entry policy The rule governing whether a visitor may leave a museum and return using the same admission. Tickets and access Reduced admission A lower admission price offered only to visitor groups defined by the institution's current rules. Tickets and access Reserved time slot The arrival window assigned to a museum reservation, whether admission is paid or free. Tickets and access Same-day ticket Admission bought for the current day rather than reserved in advance, subject to remaining capacity. Tickets and access Security screening The mandatory inspection before entry that remains in place regardless of ticket type. Tickets and access Skip-the-line ticket A ticket that may reduce the ticket-purchase queue but does not remove mandatory security screening. Tickets and access Sold-out date A date for which the museum's reservable admission inventory is no longer available through the stated sales channel. Tickets and access Timed-entry ticket A museum ticket tied to a specific entry window rather than an unrestricted day.

Collections and curating

Collections and curating Acceptance in lieu A French mechanism that allows significant works to be transferred to the state in payment of inheritance tax. Collections and curating Accession number The unique identifier assigned by a museum to an object in its collection records. Collections and curating Artist archive Documents, photographs, notebooks and records preserved to study an artist's work and process. Collections and curating Catalogue raisonné A scholarly catalogue that aims to document all known works by an artist or within a defined body of work. Collections and curating Collection database A searchable institutional record of artworks and objects, often including identifiers, materials, dates and display... Collections and curating Collection display The current selection and arrangement of works from a museum's holdings, which can change without altering the... Collections and curating Curatorial department A specialist museum division responsible for researching, caring for and presenting a defined part of the collection. Collections and curating Exhibition curator The specialist responsible for developing an exhibition's argument, selecting works and coordinating their... Collections and curating Monographic museum A museum centred on one artist's work, life or archive rather than a broad period or school. Collections and curating Museum acquisition The formal addition of an object to a museum collection through purchase, gift, bequest or another lawful transfer. Collections and curating Museum bequest A gift transferred to a museum or the state through the donor's will. Collections and curating Object interpretation The evidence-based explanation that connects an object with its making, use, context and possible meanings. Collections and curating Permanent collection The works an institution holds and presents over time, although individual objects may rotate or leave display. Collections and curating Provenance research Research into an artwork's ownership and transfer history from its creation to the present. Collections and curating Retrospective exhibition An exhibition that surveys an artist's work across a substantial part of a career. Collections and curating Temporary exhibition A time-limited display organised around a defined artist, subject or group of works. Collections and curating Wall label The short museum text identifying a work and supplying selected context beside it. Collections and curating Work on loan An object temporarily lent by its owner or home institution for display elsewhere.

Art movements

Art movements Academic art Art shaped by institutional training, juries and hierarchies of subject associated with official academies and salons. Art movements Art Nouveau A turn-of-the-century style using flowing lines, plant forms and integrated design across architecture and decorative... Art movements Cubism An early twentieth-century movement that fragmented subjects and combined multiple viewpoints within a composition. Art movements Fauvism A short-lived early twentieth-century movement known for strong non-naturalistic colour and simplified forms. Art movements Impressionism A late nineteenth-century movement associated with visible brushwork, changing light and subjects drawn from modern... Art movements Modernism in art A broad set of artistic approaches that broke with inherited conventions in response to modern life and new ideas... Art movements Naturalism in art A late nineteenth-century approach that sought close observation of ordinary life while often stressing social and... Art movements Neoclassicism An artistic movement that drew on ancient Greek and Roman forms, subjects and ideals of clarity and order. Art movements Orientalism in art European representations of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia shaped by travel, imagination and colonial power. Art movements Pointillism A method of building colour with small distinct touches intended to mix in the viewer's perception. Art movements Post-Impressionism A broad label for artists who developed distinct structural, symbolic or expressive approaches after Impressionism. Art movements Realism in art A nineteenth-century approach that made contemporary people, labour and social life subjects for serious art. Art movements Romanticism A movement that emphasised emotion, imagination, dramatic action and individual experience. Art movements Surrealism A twentieth-century movement that explored dreams, chance and unexpected combinations to challenge ordinary... Art movements Symbolism in art A movement that used suggestive images and personal or mythic symbols to express ideas beyond direct observation.

Techniques and materials

Techniques and materials Broken colour Separate touches of colour placed so the eye combines them rather than the painter fully mixing them on the palette. Techniques and materials Bronze casting A process for producing a metal sculpture from a model through a mould and casting procedure. Techniques and materials Engraving An intaglio printmaking process in which lines are cut directly into a metal plate with a tool. Techniques and materials Etching An intaglio printmaking method in which acid bites drawn lines into a prepared metal plate. Techniques and materials Glazing technique The use of thin transparent paint layers to modify colour and create depth over underlying work. Techniques and materials Impasto Paint applied thickly enough for brush or palette-knife marks to remain physically visible. Techniques and materials Lithography A printmaking process based on the separation of grease and water on a flat prepared surface. Techniques and materials Marble carving A subtractive sculptural process in which stone is cut and finished to produce the form. Techniques and materials Oil on canvas A painting made with oil-bound pigments on a woven textile support. Techniques and materials Parian marble A fine-grained white marble from the Greek island of Paros used in ancient sculpture. Techniques and materials Pastel A dry drawing and painting medium made from pigment with a small amount of binder. Techniques and materials Photographic print A physical image produced through a photographic process, whose material and technique affect appearance and... Techniques and materials Plaster model A plaster version used to develop, preserve or translate a sculptural form before another material or scale. Techniques and materials Plein-air painting Painting outdoors in direct contact with the landscape, weather and changing light. Techniques and materials Woven textile technique A textile technique in which coloured weft threads create the image as the fabric is woven.

Museum architecture

Museum architecture Adaptive reuse The conversion of an existing building to a new function while retaining significant parts of its fabric and... Museum architecture Central museum nave A high longitudinal central space that organises sightlines and circulation through a large museum building. Museum architecture Coffered vault A vaulted ceiling divided into recessed panels that structure its surface and reduce visual weight. Museum architecture Enfilade of rooms A sequence of rooms aligned so their doorways form a long visual axis. Museum architecture Former palace museum A museum housed in a building originally designed for royal, aristocratic or state residence rather than exhibitions. Museum architecture Former railway station museum A museum created inside a building originally planned for passenger rail travel. Museum architecture Glass canopy A roof or overhead structure using glazed panels to admit daylight while sheltering the space below. Museum architecture Hôtel particulier A grand private urban residence built between a street entrance and a courtyard or garden. Museum architecture Museum circulation The planned movement of visitors through entrances, stairs, rooms and exits. Museum architecture Museum courtyard An open space enclosed or framed by a museum's buildings that can organise entrances, orientation and architectural... Museum architecture Sculpture garden A landscaped outdoor space where sculpture and planting are experienced together.

Paris museum spaces

Paris museum spaces Carrousel entrance An underground access point to the Louvre through the Carrousel du Louvre complex. Paris museum spaces Cour Carrée The enclosed eastern courtyard of the Louvre Palace, distinct from Cour Napoléon and the Pyramid. Paris museum spaces Cour Napoléon The Louvre's main courtyard surrounding the glass Pyramid and connecting the palace wings. Paris museum spaces Daru staircase The monumental Louvre staircase used as the architectural setting for the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Paris museum spaces Denon Wing One of the Louvre's three principal wings, containing major painting galleries and the Daru staircase. Paris museum spaces Galerie d'Apollon A ceremonial Louvre gallery whose decoration links Louis XIV with the sun god Apollo and now houses royal gems and... Paris museum spaces Giverny Water Garden The part of Monet's garden at Giverny organised around the pond, bridges and water lilies that informed his later... Paris museum spaces Grand Trianon A palace within the Versailles estate built as a retreat from the ceremonial life of the main château. Paris museum spaces Grande Galerie The Louvre's long riverside painting gallery in the Denon Wing. Paris museum spaces Hall of Mirrors The ceremonial gallery at the Palace of Versailles connecting the King's and Queen's State Apartments and facing the... Paris museum spaces Hôtel Biron The eighteenth-century mansion that houses the main Musée Rodin in Paris beside its sculpture garden. Paris museum spaces Hôtel Salé The seventeenth-century private mansion in the Marais chosen to house the Musée Picasso Paris. Paris museum spaces Louvre Palace The historic palace complex that houses the Louvre Museum and preserves layers of royal and state architecture. Paris museum spaces Louvre Pyramid The glass structure in Cour Napoléon that marks the museum's principal central entrance and underground reception... Paris museum spaces Millefleurs ground A woven textile background densely filled with small flowering plants rather than a continuous landscape. Paris museum spaces Musée d'Orsay clock One of the monumental clocks retained from the building's life as Gare d'Orsay. Paris museum spaces Napoleon III Apartments The richly decorated former Minister of State apartments in the Louvre's Richelieu Wing, named for their Second... Paris museum spaces Petit Trianon A smaller palace in the Trianon estate closely associated with Marie Antoinette's private domain. Paris museum spaces Queen's Hamlet A group of rustic-style buildings created within Marie Antoinette's estate near the Petit Trianon at Versailles. Paris museum spaces Richelieu Wing The Louvre wing on the north side of Cour Napoléon, with sculpture courts, decorative arts and other departments. Paris museum spaces Salle des États The large Louvre room in the Denon Wing where the Mona Lisa is displayed opposite The Wedding Feast at Cana. Paris museum spaces Sully Wing The Louvre wing surrounding the eastern Cour Carrée and housing collections including Greek antiquities and palace... Paris museum spaces The Lady and the Unicorn A celebrated late medieval woven textile cycle displayed at the Musée de Cluny, built around a lady, a lion and a... Paris museum spaces Water Lilies rooms The two oval rooms at the Orangerie designed for the display of Monet's eight Water Lilies panels.

Accessibility and families

Accessibility and families Accessible entrance The entrance designated for visitors who need level access or specific assistance. Accessibility and families Audio description Spoken description that communicates visual information about an artwork, space or action. Accessibility and families Bag size policy The institution's limit on the dimensions or types of bags allowed through security and into the museum. Accessibility and families Cloakroom policy The current rules governing which personal items a museum will store during a visit. Accessibility and families Companion admission An admission arrangement for a person accompanying a disabled visitor, governed by each institution's evidence rules. Accessibility and families Family visitor trail A shorter themed museum route designed around the attention, questions and movement needs of children and... Accessibility and families Museum audio guide An official recorded interpretation service delivered through a device or application for selected works and spaces. Accessibility and families Museum quiet space A designated area where visitors can pause away from the main flow and reduce sensory load. Accessibility and families Sensory access Resources or visit conditions designed for sensory needs, which may include tactile, audio, visual or low-stimulation... Accessibility and families Step-free route A visitor route that avoids stairs by using level access, ramps or lifts. Accessibility and families Wheelchair loan A museum service lending a wheelchair for use during the visit, subject to current conditions and availability.

Conservation and research

Conservation and research Condition report A dated record of an object's physical state used to monitor change and guide handling, display or treatment. Conservation and research Conservation treatment A documented intervention intended to stabilise an object or improve its legibility while respecting its material... Conservation and research Light-sensitive art Works whose materials can fade or degrade through cumulative exposure to light. Conservation and research Preventive conservation Measures that reduce risks to collections by controlling handling, display, environment and storage before damage... Conservation and research Relative humidity control Management of moisture in the air to reduce damaging dimensional and chemical changes in collection materials. Conservation and research Textile conservation The examination, stabilisation and care of woven, embroidered or otherwise fibre-based objects.
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