On April 2nd, during the Easter holidays, an artistic journey was made to Paris by the sixth form Art and History of Art students. We spent five days exploring several of the best art galleries in France, and discovering art from every genre. 

Our artistic education began the minute we stepped off the Eurostar in Paris, as we barely had time to leave our bags at the hotel before being whisked off to the Louvre. Guided by a woman who made it very clear that she disapproved of our not speaking French, we saw some of the most impressive Greek Sculpture of which the highlight was definitely Nike de Samothrace; a very famous sculpture with a fascinating history. It was very satisfying to see some of the paintings we had studied so much in class such as Gericault’s, Le Radeau de la Méduse, but interestingly the sight of the Mona Lisa, barely distinguishable through the crowds of tourists, did not have the same impact.

The highlight of our second day was undoubtedly the trip to Givern to see the garden of Claude Monet. These immaculately kept gardens teeming with colourful flora stimulated our creative juices so much, that we had to test out our skills by sketching the Japanese bridge over the water lilies, making, of course, just comparisons between our own work and Monet’s. It was wonderful to understand how and why this great artist was so inspired to paint these gardens, and to experience the same inspiration that he did. It was by far the most peaceful and relaxing day, being able to explore the perfectly designed flower beds at our own pace.

With the third day of our trip came a visit to the Musée D’Orsay, which held some of our favourite works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and many more which got us all very excited. Our guides were really informative and after an hour’s tour, our art historical knowledge was considerably extended! The museum itself was a work of art, having transformed the beautiful old station into a modern, compact and brilliant art gallery.

On arriving at the Pompidou centre on the fourth day none of us knew what to expect, but when we saw what looked like a giant oil refinery turned inside out we couldn’t contain our amazement. The contrast to the last five or six places we had visited was enormous: the escalator was on the outside of the building and huge funnels for air circulation surrounded the square. The art we found inside was just as impressive of which Gauguin, Kandinsky, Chagall and Derain were only a few of our favourite artists featured there.

The teachers made sure that our last night in Paris was the best by taking us to the Hard Rock Café for dinner, followed by a late-night climb of the Eiffel Tower. Our last morning acted as a recovery session from four exhausting but rewarding days of standing up and analysing art, as we spent our last couple of hours at the Orangerie gazing dreamily at expansive walls of Monet’s water lilies.

Boarding the Eurostar to go home that afternoon was a sad business because as well as having learned a huge amount about French art and culture, we had enjoyed a fantastic trip which could not have been possible without the exceptional French skills of Ms Jeffery, the incredible sense of direction of Mr Tompsett and the extensive artistic knowledge of Miss Peat. We would all like to thank the teachers for giving us this exceptional artistic experience.

Sophie Jamieson, LVI