BACE CULTURAL PROGRAM FOR RESEARCHERS

OOOctobOctobctoberer 2006 : L’île de la Cité

On this “île de la Cité” you can find among other things the cathedral Notre Dame de , the and the “Sainte Chapel”. La Conciergerie, which first collected the rents of all the shops in Paris, has soon been converted into a prison and housed very famous prisoners of the (Marie Antoinette, Danton and Robespierre). Outside, you can discover the Tour de l’Horloge which received the first public clock of Paris and which has been restored in the 19 th century. The Sainte-Chapelle which includes two chapels has been edified under Saint Louis to receive the wreath of hawthorn and a fragment of the True Cross. The stained-glass windows, restored in the 19 th century and dating from the 13 th century, relate scenes of the Old and New Testament.

NovembNovembeeeerrrr 2006 : Le MMaraisarais (place des , Jewish areaarea))))

Le Marais, which is first a vast swamp, has become famous thanks to its Place Royale (today Place des Vosges), decided by Henry the 4 th . The neighbourhood which houses sumptuous residential hotels in the French manner, particularly Victor Hugos’s, has become in vogue. Lately, it has been renovated in order to highlight these architectural treasures.

JanJanuaryuary 2007 ::: the Opéra

The Opéra Garnier, built between 1862 and 1875 by Charles Garnier, is an imposing Napoleon III monument which can receive 450 artists. The space is for a major part dedicated to the storage of the scenery and the logistics, that’s why it cannot receive more than 2,200 spectators. You can note the ceiling painted by Chagall in 1864.

February 2007 : Rodin Museum

Housed in a private eighteenth-century mansion surrounded by a large park in which his bronze works are on display, this was the last Paris residence of the great sculptor Auguste Rodin. One room is dedicated to Camille Claudel, who was his mistress and fellow-sculptor during his most productive years. The visit sheds light on the origins and evolution of Rodin’s most famous sculptures (including The Kiss, the Bourgeois of Calais, the Gates of Hell, the Walking Man, St John the Baptist, and the Cathedral). We will also learn about Rodin’s original techniques, way ahead of his time, which made him the forerunner of contemporary sculpture.

MarMarchchchch 2007 : Place of pilgrimage. Sacred-Heart basilica and Artist colony. This is the very touristic part of the village and we will have to stand in front of the church to see Paris stretching below our feet, some kilometers far away . But there is another Montmartre, less known and picturesc where you can see the old mevieval streets, the vineyards, the windmills, the fountains and studios of the Impressionists, Renoir, Valadon, Toulouse-Lautrec, Utrillo, or those of the Bateau-Lavoir (Max Jacob, Juan Gris, Vlaminck) where Cubism with Braque and Picasso was born

BACE (Bureau d’Accueil des Chercheurs Etrangers) Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, Maison internationale, Aile Ouest 17 Boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris cedex 14 Tel: 33 (0)1 70 08 76 34 Fax: 33 (0)1 45 89 37 48

ApApAprilAp ril 2007 : SaintSaint----GermainGermain

The church of the district, rebuilt from 990, houses the tombs of the Merovingian which are buried next to Saint Germain, bishop of Paris. Today, its Hotels with yards house many ministries. After the Revolution, the district has become in vogue again and takes up with an intellectual tradition; it is associated with famous names as Vian, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir that we could see in the famous café de Flore.

May 2007 : Les Halles

After the “Ile de la Cité” which is the birth place of Paris, the Halles is the oldest area of the town. The central market has been transferred to this commercial place since XIIth Century. From 1851 Napoleon III decided to modernise the site. For that the architect Victor Baltard built ten pavilion made of metal and glass. However these pavilions were destroyed in 1969. Nowadays the Halles is one of the most famous area in Paris. The greatest metro station of Europe is situated in its underground. You can still find lots of shops and restaurant there.

JuJuJunJu nnneeee 2007 : Day trip to Moret and VauxVaux----lelelele----VicomteVicomte

Vaux was the residence of Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s financial secretary. Rich and extravagant, he had a chateau built for himself which, from all points of view, is a model of Versailles – from the splendor of its apartments to the beauty of its terraced gardens and the number of its fountains. Fouquet discovered the artists of the Great (Seventeenth) Century. After Fouquet’s downfall, arrest and the disgraceful trial which banished him for life, Louis XIV called them to Versailles to work for him. The Apartments of Vaux are ornately furnished and the kitchens and cellars evoke the daily life of this chateau that had its evening of glory – during the Feast of Vaux, held only once, to which Fouquet invited the entire Royal Court…

Moret is a little town, located on the border of the Ile de region and Burgundy, a strategic spot during the Hundred Years War. Impressive city gates, ramparts, an old bridge over the Loing river, a medieval dungeon and part of a hostel for the Santiago de Compostella pilgrims still remain. But above all, Moret is known for being the place where Sisley lived and spent his last years, in dire financial straits, endlessly painting the washing houses, the banks of the river, the trees, or his “series” of paintings of Moret’s Notre Dame church. He died penniless, never having been appreciated during his lifetime. We will be reminded at every turn of Sisley’s soft and luminous works as we walk through the town, following in his footsteps

BACE (Bureau d’Accueil des Chercheurs Etrangers) Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, Maison internationale, Aile Ouest 17 Boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris cedex 14 Tel: 33 (0)1 70 08 76 34 Fax: 33 (0)1 45 89 37 48