Paris: The Ultimate Arts Classroom

Paris in the early 20th century is remembered for its flourishing arts scene. At Gertrude Stein’s apartment on Rue de Fleurus, literary titans like Hemingway and Fitzgerald critiqued poems and prose. Nearby, the Ballet Russe thrived, leading to the production of the seminal “Rite of Spring.” In Giverny, Claude Monet paved the way for modernist painters with his love of nature and eye for color.

 

The era is one of Professor Mary Buckley’s favorites. To explore all the creative movements that took place at the time, she designed a course that allowed eight students to absorb some of the City of Art’s most breathtaking scenes: They hopped on bikes and wheeled their way through Monet’s picturesque gardens, spent three hours looking at towering Parisian buildings during an architecture tour, applauded performances produced by the Théâtre de la Ville and browsed 20th-century works at the Musée de l’Orangerie. The two-week experience gave students an unparalleled chance to take a closer look at the concepts they studied during an online portion of the class.

 

“It’s different when you see a picture of a painting on a computer screen versus learning about it and seeing it in all its glory—you understand the size and the scope,” said junior Katie Banks, a science major who used the trip as a chance to indulge her love for art.

 

The students also retraced the steps of the art world’s legends. The day they traveled to Monet’s home in Giverny, clouds rolled in and rain poured during most of their morning tour. But the weather cleared before the end of the visit, and the students were able to see Monet’s famed water lilies radiating under the sun.

 

“It didn’t make any sense—they were totally different colors. We realized that seeing them in the rain was a completely different experience than seeing them in the sun, and it helped us understand how Monet painted them,” Ms. Banks said.

 

As a Writing in the Disciplines course, the class required students to complete a research paper with the help of GW research librarian Bill Gillis. They also had to compile a daily journal, reflecting on the sights and smells they took in every day. That wasn’t a hard task for Ms. Banks, who had plenty of material to think about.

 

 “Everything in Paris is a work of art, and it’s incredible to get to see that,” she said.