June 9, Musée Picasso, Hôtel de Ville, and Theatre Essaïon

For Picasso, the canvas is a diary. Professor Martine Mooncece led us through a fascinating exploration of the artist's life and work at the Picasso Museum. Martine introduced the concept of work-as-diary, and taught us how to "read" Picasso's canvases, sculptures, and assemblages. By the end of our tour, members of our group had learned to decipher through Picasso's use of color and form his feelings towards his subjects, and the cultures that influenced particular renderings. We even became practiced enough readers to discern which of his lovers were depicted in his canvases! Martine's tour brought the artist's work to life in all of its passion and complexity.














In the afternoon, we headed to Hôtel de Ville, Paris' City Hall, for a tour of its opulent reception rooms whose architecture and furnishings reflect the regal style of the late nineteenth century. The high ceilings, neo-classical paintings, and ornate furnishings provided a striking counterpoint to Picasso's iconoclastic sensibility. Christiane Dijeaux, our guide, provided an overview of Paris' political history from the eighteenth century through current day, which helped us contextualize the Modernist period that we've been immersed in.

Our survey of Parisian art and culture wouldn't be complete without an evening at the Cabaret, and in the evening, we enjoyed a performance by French chanteuse Claire Guyot at the Theatre Essaïon, a former wine cellar converted into a cabaret and theatre with an artistic, bohemian flair.