Beyond the Classroom > Study Abroad

Watercolor: The Art of the French Table

January 2002

While France launched the euro in January of 2002, eight students and Professor Tara Christopherson painted plein air watercolors and experienced the culture and art of French masters from the beautiful Cote d'Azur to Paris. They began in Nice, witnessing the living history of Renoir, Chagall, Matisse, Miró, and Picasso. Renoir's 1000-year-old olive trees with view of the sea shelter the serene, Les Colettes, where he painted shimmering nudes for the last four decades of his life. Chagall's immense canvases tell love stories. Matisse's red, striped chair, corner table, green vase, open window grace his Cimiez studio. Deeper into Provence, Cezanne's studio in Aix-en-Provence holds the simple props and unforgettable views that inspired his work. Dramatically modern Léger, Mîro and Picasso owe a debt of inspiraton to the region's pottery and glass artisans. Near Arles, the church that inspired Van Gogh's “Starry Night” still stands opposite St. Remy with its serene gardens of iris and sunflowers-site of his most prolific body of work. By train from Avignon to the Rive Gauche, the group arrived in the city of light, to soak up museums, shopping, and French cuisine before returning to Minnesota with their portfolios and memories.