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Museums


I have a lot of mixed feelings about how soon my return to the US is. On one hand, I really miss a lot of my classic American comforts, and having no school for a month sounds wildly appealing. On the other hand, I am going to miss so many things about life in Paris. The city is so saturated with amazing art and inspiring locations that it is constantly overwhelming to try to absorb it all. After already having walked through much of the Marais last week, I thought there surely couldn’t be all that much more to see of it, but after spending the day in 4 different museums in the area, I learned that I was sorely mistaken. There was such a wealth of art and history, including a huge collection of Picasso’s works, elaborate renaissance manors, and even the Constitution of the Fifth Republic. There were a lot of strong moments in the Marais, and I am eager to explore even more in the area when I get the chance.

Some of the other museums that I ended up at this week in different areas were also pretty cool to visit. The most exciting one for me was the Musée Maillol, which had an exhibition on Pop Art. The focus of the exhibition was on American artists of the 1960’s such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Allan D’Arcangelo who defined much of the mass consumed art we know today. While this was not necessarily an icon of French culture, it was fascinating to see this art shown through a French lens. The museum made a point of identifying cultural and artistic influences in pop art, and thereby reconciling pop art with high art. There were also detailed descriptions of how this art reflected and shaped the American paradigm, and how especially relevant this art is and was to a culture so deeply entrenched in capitalism.


The highlight of the entire week was probably going to the Palace of Versailles. It was pretty surreal just how over the top the entire building was. Going into this Study abroad trip, this palace was one of the visits I was most looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. The gardens outside the palace were also pretty amazing, even while it was raining. 

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