Adventures Online: The Art & History of Paris

Orientation. At 1:00 p.m. (ET), our resident expert and Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the program theme, the up-to-date schedule and any changes, discuss Zoom meeting protocol and technical instructions, and answer any questions you may have. This Orientation session will last approximately 30 minutes. We’ll then have a lecture (50 minutes) on the origins of Paris from Roman development through the Middle Ages. Archaeologists estimate that the area has been inhabited for about 9,000 years. What eventually became Paris began in the 3rd Century BCE when members of the Parisii tribe settled on an island in the Seine River. Our virtual field trip (45 minutes) will focus on the Roman and medieval heritage on the Île de la Cité and the Left Bank. We will “visit” the city’s old Roman road and the Arènes de Lutèce, before exploring the exterior of Notre-Dame. We will study the beautiful stained-glass windows of the extraordinary Sainte-Chapelle. It was commissioned by King – later Saint – Louis IX and consecrated in 1248. The magnificent stained glass windows consist of 1,113 individual scenes that — when filled with light — make the chapel a veritable jewel box of color.” We will continue with a virtual visit to the Musée de Cluny — National Museum of the Middle Ages — with its unique collection including the renowned series of tapestries known as “The Lady and the Unicorn.” Next, we’ll have an open discussion with questions and answers (45 minutes) touching on Medieval monuments, Romanticism, the Notre-Dame fire, and restoration projects.

We’ll have a lecture (30 minutes) on the arrival of the Renaissance in Paris and the city’s central role in the Enlightenment. Our next virtual field trip (45 minutes) will illustrate how the new ideas of this period shaped the city. We will “visit” the founding educational institutions La Sorbonne and the Collège de France, situated next to each other in the Latin Quarter. Further afield, we will examine the Place des Vosges in what was originally called the Place Royale and is now the Marais district. This bold example of rational urban planning was commissioned by King Henri IV and inaugurated in 1612. One of its most famous later residents was Victor Hugo. We will also learn about the highlights of the Musée du Louvre. The largest museum in the world, the Louvre’s unrivaled collection includes thousands of masterworks including Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” and the Hellenistic statue of a goddess known as “Vénus de Milo” for the island where it was discovered in 1820. Our open discussion with questions and answers (45 minutes) will focus on the Italian influence on French art and culture.

Our expert lecture (30 minutes) will focus on the French Revolution(s). Today’s virtual field trip (45 minutes) will take us into the Musée Carnavalet, which consists of two townhouses in the Marais with more than 100 rooms and a collection of some 600,000 items that trace five centuries of Parisian history. We will look into the “Revolution” rooms. We’ll then move on from the Place de la Bastille through the Marais, to the Conciergerie — nicknamed “antechamber to the guillotine” — where Marie Antoinette and more than a thousand others were imprisoned, and to the Place de la Concorde. Open discussion with questions and answers (45 minutes): Napoleon Bonaparte, Hero or Villain?

Today’s lecture (30 minutes) will address the modernization of Paris under Napoleon III and how the city became a global cultural and artistic hub. In particular, we’ll learn about Baron Haussman, the Opera Garnier, and the Grands Boulevards. Our virtual field trip (45 minutes) will feature the Orsay, Orangerie, and Rodin museums. We’ll see some of the most significant masterpieces in these museums followed by a virtual walk in Montmartre — the hill and neighborhood which exemplifies artistic Paris. Our open discussion with questions and answers (45 minutes) will address modernity in art and architecture.

Our lecture (30 minutes) will explain the city’s architectural and artistic development during the Belle Epoque, with the large urban projects of the Universal Expositions of 1889 and 1900. It will also explore how Paris became the center of the avant-garde, a place of innovation in the arts. We will learn what occurred afterwards with a look at key events that marked the city in the 20th century. Many of these ideas and conflicts still echo today and inform the city’s recent challenges, such as migration, terrorist attacks, and the Yellow Vest protests. Today’s virtual field trip (45 minutes) will include the Grand and Petit Palais and the Alexandre III Bridge. We will also learn about the masterpieces of the Centre Pompidou, as well as the Musée National Picasso-Paris, dedicated to one of the 20th century’s most important modern artists. Our open discussion with questions and answers (45 minutes) will discuss whether Paris is still a global capital of the arts and explore future developments in the city, including its relationship with the river. This concludes our program.