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Between 4 and 9 March 2024, forty-three students from the Department of Art and Art History embarked on a study tour where they visited a number of exhibitions, museums, churches and historic sites in Paris as part of their course of study.

Led by four distinguished lecturers specialising in art and architecture from the same Department - Dr Mark Sagona, Prof. Conrad Thake, Dr Christian Attard and Dr Charlene Vella all of whom have provided students with salient points on the art and architecture related to their area of expertise - the tour saw the group visiting landmarks from the iconic Louvre Museum to the majestic Sainte-Chapelle. Each landmark holds a story waiting to be discovered and appreciated.

Undergraduate and postgraduate students were positively overwhelmed by some of the masterpieces that they had the opportunity to view at close range and better understand thanks to the lecturers’ explanations.

The packed six days started with a visit to the Musée du Louvre with a special focus on art works from the Italian Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque periods, as well as art works from periods of Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Some of the artists included Antonello da Messina, Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Canova.

Other museums visited were the Musée de Cluny/Musée National de Moyen Age and the Musée des Arts Decoratifs (MAD) where a private tour saw the group investigating the decorative arts of the nineteenth century.

For the modern period, visits to the Fondation Le Corbusier’s Maison La Roche, the Musée d’Orsay, the L’Orangerie and the Centre Georges Pompidou, were highlights with some of the artists focussed on being Manet, Bonheur, Courbet, Monet, Matisse, Braque, Miró, Chagall, Kahlo and Pollock.

Visits to the Arc de Triomphe du Carousel, the Place de la Concorde, the Louvre exterior and the Arc de Triomphe were also on the programme, as well as the intricacies of Haussmannian boulevards. Through these site visits and interactive sessions, students gained invaluable insights into the evolution of architectural and artistic styles that have shaped western art.

Churches visited were the Church of the Madeleine, the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Church of Saint-Sulpice, with a highlight of the tour being especially the Sainte-Chapelle, the royal chapel of the kings of Paris built to house precious relics in the mid thirteenth century.

"This trip represents a unique opportunity for our students to deepen their understanding of art and architecture in a global context," remarked Dr Mark Sagona, Head of Department and leader of the tour. "By immersing themselves in the vibrant cultural landscape of Paris, they have not only expanded their knowledge but also cultivated a lifelong appreciation for the arts which their course of study is preparing them for.”