Paris - DELETEDPAGES - Art History Abroad - Art History Abroad

                                          15th - 19th March 2012

 

Raboteurs de Parquet by Caillebotte

 

Paris always reminds me of the Emperor's New Clothes; it is the tiniest bit vain, magnificent and much misunderstood.  It is easy to be infuriated by the hauteur of a Parisienne but hard not to appreciate the sophistication of design and the brilliance of finish.  Everything, from the gilding on railings, the clothes and even the scents are just right; by definition chic.  France, like Britain has a rich heritage borrowed, largely from elsewhere.  The Louvre is wonderful but that would be to miss the point of Paris.  The point of Paris is that it is the seedbed of our modern artistic minds.  From Paris came the break with Classical art and the birth of Modernism.  From Paris we have Picasso, Monet and Le Corbusier and this is the point of our tour, to ignore the Classical and focus on that which defines Paris.

While the itinerary does include a few well visited places such as the Musée d'Orsay we have endeavoured to include places off the beaten track with the hope that there will be something new for everyone.

 

Itinerary

Thursday 15^th March     An Introduction: The Impressionists and the Rebirth of Paris

 We will catch the Eurostar to Paris followed by private transport to our hotel.  We will have lunch at an excellent brasserie close to the hotel.

 Our afternoon walk will look at the rebirth of Paris and the town planning of Haussmann.  We shall begin at Gare Saint-Lazare and wind our way back towards the hotel, our route will encompass many sights recognisable from the Impressionists' paintings.  En route we will discuss themes such as the emergence of the Parisian middleclass, the battle for acceptance of non-academic painting and the emerging new markets.

We will have supper at one of our favourite places in Paris.

After the Bath by Degas 

Friday 16^th March    Musée d'Orsay and Musée Rodin

Many of you may have already visited the excellent collection of paintings and sculpture at the Musée d'Orsay, but we aim to give you a fresh insight into the works and provide the opportunity to study in depth the break with Classical art and the birth of Modernism. We will visit the newly renovated Impressionist galleries which house key works such as 'Olympia' by Manet, 'La Gare Saint-Lazare' by Monet, 'Le Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe' by both Monet and Manet and Caillebotte's groundbreaking 'Raboteurs de Parquet' to name but a few.  We will have lunch at a great place near the Hôtel des Invalides. 

After lunch we will visit the Musée Rodin, possibly one of my favourite museums. This remarkable collection of Rodin's sculptures, drawings and photographs is housed in a small 18^th century chateau, the Hôtel Biron, which became the home of Rodin in 1908.  The sculptor bequeathed his works to the state on the condition that the Hôtel Biron became a museum dedicated to his work.  Rodin's wish came true and we are now able to see his art within the charming setting of the house and gardens.

For those who wish we will finish the day with a walk from Saint-Germain-des-Prés to Ile de la Cité culminating in drinks at the Jardin des Tuileries.

Supper will be at an excellent restaurant close to the hotel.

Saturday 17^th March    Musée de L'Orangerie, Palais de Tokyo and the Musée Marmottan

Musée de L'Orangerie is a unique gallery in the Jardin des Tuileries chosen by Monet to showcase his extraordinary masterpiece 'Les Nymphéas'.   It is a real treat to still be able to see this work in such a wonderful setting.  L'Orangerie is also home to the fantastic collection of Paul Guillaume which includes well-known paintings by Renoir, Cezanne, Rousseau, Modigliani, Matisse, Picasso and Derain. We will have an early lunch near the Jardin des Tuileries.

After lunch we will visit the east wing of the Palais de Tokyo which houses works from some of the major artists of the Cubist and Fauvist movements, including Picasso, Braque, Derain and Vlaminck.  There is also an awe-inspiring room devoted to Dufy where his massive mural, 'La Fée Electricité',  covers what was the former reception hall of the museum and a vast room dedicated to Matisse's 'La Danse de Paris'.  We will continue on to the Musée Marmottan, a hidden gem on the west side of Paris.  The museum houses the best Monet collection in Paris including his iconic 'Impression: Sunrise'.  There is also a wonderful group of paintings by Berthe Morisot.

 

Sunday 18^th March   Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye and Monet's Garden at Giverney

Our private transport will take us to Poissy, about forty minutes outside Paris.   We will spend the morning studying one of the most influential architects and town planners of the 20^th century, Charles-Edouard Jeanneret. The Villa Savoye is one of the finest examples of his radical ideas on the building of private houses demolishing pre-conceived ideas on house building which even involved placing the garden on the roof.  We will then have an excellent lunch nearby in the gardens at Cazaudehore set deep in the Forêt de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

In the afternoon we will continue on to Giverney, a further forty minutes away.  This is a wonderful opportunity to see Monet's beautiful garden.  The grounds are divided into two parts, a colourful flower garden, Le Clos Normond, and the famous water garden inspired by Monet's own collection of Japanese prints.  Our return journey to Paris will take around forty five minutes.

Supper in one of our favourite restaurants close to the hotel.

 

Prometheus by Gustave Moreau

 

 

Monday 19^th March    Musée Gustav Moreau

 

 

This fabulous museum was established and designed by Moreau himself on the very spot where he lived and worked in order to showcase his collection.  The walls are adorned with his paintings, drawings and watercolours including his remarkable 'Jupiter and Semele' and 'Prometheus'.  We will discuss the biblical and mythological themes in his paintings and his intelligent teaching at the Ecole des Beaux Art in Paris in the late 19^th century.

One last delicious lunch and time for some café culture or shopping before our private transport takes us to Gare du Nord for the 18.13 Eurostar back to London.

Further Details

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Gare St-Lazare by Monet