Urbanism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism in Paris and Beyond

Travel Dates: May 13-26, 2024

Get hands-on field experience of art history by traveling to Paris, Amsterdam and Avignon and learn about urbanism, impressionism and post-impressionism.

• Course Information: ART 425: Field Experience in Art History
• Dates of Travel: May 13-26, 2024
• Estimated Cost: $3950 (includes airfare, lodging, transportation, all breakfasts, museums/excursions, trip and health insurance) Tuition cost is extra, but eligible for financial aid.
  • A non-refundable deposit of $250 is due September 15, this is used to reserve airfare seats and hotel rooms.
• Applications:
• Eligibility: Sophomore rank or above (some exceptions may apply), ability to walk 20,000 steps a day, ability to carry own luggage (up to 50 pounds).

Sample Paris & Beyond Study Abroad Itinerary

• Day 1: Fargo
  Depart for Paris
• Day 2: Paris
  Arrive in Paris
  Introduction to city, local transportation and walking tour.
• Day 3: Paris
  Musée d’Orsay. The National Museum of France focusing on late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century art, photography, and the decorative arts. Located in a former train station, the museum captures the scale and feel of the major public exhibitions of the French salons.
• Day 4: Paris
  Walking tour of Haussmann’s Paris followed by a visit to the Musée Gustave Moreau. Much of what Paris looks like today is due to the massive redesign implemented by Baron Georges Eugéne Haussmann who transformed a charming medieval city to a modern metropolis in the nineteenth-century.
• Day 5: Paris & Giverny
  Private Coach will take us from Paris to Giverny for a tour of Monet’s house, studio, and gardens. This day trip will take us to Claude Monet’s refuge from Paris where the painter produced many of his most memorable plein-air works.
• Day 6: Paris
  Orangerie Museum. Located in the beautiful Tuileries Gardens, the Orangerie features an array of art works by late 19th- and 20th-century artists. It also has a regular rotation of contemporary art exhibitions. Of special note for members of this class who will have just visited Monet’s gardens at Giverny, will be the permanent installation of Monet’s famous Waterlilies.
• Day 7: Paris
  Rodin Museum. Complementing our visits to painters’ studios, this day will be dedicated to one of the leading sculptors of the period: Auguste Rodin. Nestled in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Paris, the museum includes an exquisite garden that features some of the artists most famous works such as the Thinker, The Gates of Hell, and The Burghers of Calais.
• Day 8: Paris to Avignon
  Depart for Avignon, France. Taking the TGV, the high-speed train direct to the southern Provençal city of Avignon.
  After check-in to the hotel, brief overview of this charming southern city and the next day’s activities.
• Day 9: Avignon & Arles
  Day trip via 17-minute train to the city of Arles for Van Gogh walking tour. Van Gogh did not care for Paris and with the help of his brother, he relocated to the southern city of Arles, a small community where the climate and lower cost of living proved to be a productive time for the artist. Arles is also home to an impressive array of Roman ruins including a 1st century amphitheater.
• Day 10: Avignon & Aix-en Provence
  Day trip to Aix-en-Provence. We will have a private coach from Avignon take us to the University town of Aix-en-Provence which is the city where the painter Paul Cézanne settled after his time in Paris. Here we will see the dramatic landscapes of Mont Saint Victoire captured by the painter as well as visits to his family home and studio. The city is also home to the Musée Granet that holds an impressive collection of art many by artists that we have studied in this course.
• Day 11: Avignon to Amsterdam
  Head to Amsterdam via train with one change in Paris.
  Check in to hotel and brief overview of the local transportation system and an overview of the next day’s activities.
• Day 12: Amsterdam
  Van Gogh Museum. Recently renovated into a visitor friendly site, this museum features not only works by the famed artist and his contemporaries, but well-curated historical exhibitions about the social, political, and artistic contexts in which the artist worked.
• Day 13: Amsterdam
  Free Day to wrap up loose ends, work on independent itineraries.
• Day 14: Amsterdam to Fargo
  Departure to the U.S. via United Airlines with one change in Chicago.

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