Photos Jan 26- Feb 15

January 26

(Pont Alexander III)

(Le Greco exhibit at Le Grand Palais- Art from the 16th century!)

January 27

(I found this neat little statue wandering around the 6th Arrondissement)

January 31

(I found a fun little museum along the side streets that told the history of France, music, and art through perfumes!)

(History through perfume part 2)

(This photo, "Le Baiser 1929, as well as the next several,l are from the Musee Nationale de Picasso. Although I did like some of his pieces, what I found most interesting was that they felt enormously empty. What I mean by this is simply that Picasso saw women as objects, used them as such, and this feeling is incredibly tangible in his work. I had seen pictures of his work before but in person, the feeling of degradation is overwhelming. What's more, if all of the words on the walls glorified his work and celebrated his pieces, particularly those concerning Marie-Therese Walter, a 17-year-old woman that Picasso was in a relationship with when he was 45. I learned after that Walter would go on to commit suicide as a result of working with Picasso. While I was filled with quiet rage and heartbreak for these women, the world still revels in Picasso's "genius". For more on Picasso, I highly recommend this article on the dangers of separating artists from their work.)

("Figure, 1928")

("Line Drawing, 1929")

("Figure, 1927")

("Metamorphosis, 1928")

(These are photos from Sainte-Chappelle, a 13th-century cathedral in Paris. All of the stained glass is original and has been restored within the last ten years as a part of a massive $10 million dollar restoration project.)

(The rose glass)

(A pulpit fit for, and originally made for, a king)

(Sainte-Chapelle is actually located within the court of justice, originally built so that the royals did not have to leave their safe haven to go to church)

(Completely awe-inspiring)

February 5

(For my art history course, we get to walk around the city and learn about the different art styles as seen around the city. These stain-glass domes are the ceilings are great example of Art Nouveau.)

(The Lafayette Galleries are four massive department stores on Champ- Elysees)

February 15

(My friend Sabina and I took a day trip yesterday up to Rouen and Le Havre in Normandy! This is what the houses in Rouen looked like)

(This street was aptly named, "Rue de la Grande Horloge" or "Street of the Big Clock")

(the Rouen Cathedral or the most ornately decorated building I've ever seen circ. the 12th century)

(The interior)

(All of the different saints represented in this church)

(A snazzy staircase)

(The gardens)

(We spotted a little friend up the window!)

(We visited the Joan of Arc memorial)

(A statue from the church of Joan of Arc)

(The interior of Joan's church on the ground of where her trial took place)

(The memorial gardens around where she was burned)

Church of St. Ouen)

(This one had a far more mysterious, Hogwarts-y vibe)

(The Japanese gardens in Le Havre where we made friends with a duck that we named Francois!)

(The English Channel-- it was unbelievably windy and cold!)

(Sabina in a little tea salon we found)

(A stop at the new museum of modern art there)

(A lovely Monet painting)

(A wall of cow paintings that made me think of my roommate back in MC, Anne Thompson!)