Day 4, Tuesday, March 6
We took a train to a winding road to a funicular to get to Montmartre, a neighborhood perched above the city that offers panoramic views and has strong artistic roots. Originally this hilltop village was settled by artists because of its low rents. We visited Vincent Van Gogh’s first apartment in Paris there and saw the famous vantage point and windmill included in his paintings from that time. Montmartre still has a vibrant artistic community, and in being there one could see how the Impressionist artists were able to meet in the cafes, form a comradery and influence each other’s style. We visited the Montmartre Museum to learn more about this special neighborhood and the Bateau-Lavoir, which was a home and gathering place for many famous artists, to enjoy the atmosphere for the day.

Day 5, Wednesday, March 7
The SVA Destinations Paris group hopped on a bus for a road trip to experience the “Island of the Impressionists,” otherwise known as Chatou. Located near Paris along the banks of the Seine, Chatou was a festive and relaxing weekend destination for Parisians who reveled in boating activities. Impressionist master August Renoir loved Chatou and memorialized it in his painting The Déjeuner des Canotiers, which features the local restaurant La Maison Fournaise. On our trip we followed the artists’ trails, visited the restaurant and the Musée Fournaise to discover the island’s rich history. For lunch we ventured to Marly-Le-Roi, the setting of many celebrated paintings by artist Camille Pissarro. Last, we visited Louveciennes, the chateau built by Louis XIV near the aqueduct that drew water from the Seine through a 14-panel hydraulic process, which was also the site of many Impressionist paintings.

Day 6, Thursday, March 8
We celebrated International Women’s Day with a trip to Musée Marmottan Monet, a small museum tucked away in a Parisian mansion on the city's posh western edge. The museum featured an exhibition by Bethe Morisot, the first female impressionist painter. We learned about Bethe’s career, which started by a chance meeting with artist Édouard Manet at the Louvre. She went on to pose for him 14 times, marry his brother and become a championed member of his painters’ circle, which was revolutionary at the time, as women were not allowed to paint professionally. Also on view at the museum was its permanent collection of Monet’s “water lilies” and “sunrise” works, whose rich textures and bursts of colors jump off the canvas when you see them up close and in person. In the evening, we visited the Musée D’Orsay, home to the mother lode of Impressionist paintings. Its vast permanent collection features famous and important works from Monet, Manet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Eugène Delacroix, Paul Gauguin, and Gustave Caillebotte. It also houses many (post-Impressionist) works by Van Gogh. This visit helped us to contextualize and trace the evolution of Impressionism, and its various depictions of form and light, from its early stages.

The College’s annual series of arts abroad programs contextualizes Impressionism