June 12, Ulrike Kasper's Architectural tour of Baron Haussmann’s “modern” Paris

We toured the city today with architecture professor Ulrike Kasper. We met at the Opera Garnier and began our walking lecture with a discussion of Baron Haussmann’s design of “modern” Paris. With Ulrike we walked through the covered glass passages of the 19th century, to the Palais Royal, the Louvre and beyond.

She wove together the classic architectural history of Paris with the contemporary buildings and architectural installations.



That evening we met with Art Historian Anne Catherine Abecassis at the Pompidou Center. This contemporary art museum located in the center of Paris provided the background for the continuation of our lecture on modern painters. Looking at the paintings of Matisse, Delaney, Picasso and Gris, Anne Catherine rounded out the discussion of the major transformation that was taking place in the visual arts the beginning of the 20th century. Her lecture culminated in a discussion of Duchamp’s “Fountain” ready-made and the symbolic role it played in brining forth the conversation: “What is art? What are the essential characteristics of art? And who defines art?”