Painting and Drawing in Southern France

Summer 2010: May 9 to May 30 (tentative dates)

Program Location

The hillside village of Auvillar provides expansive views for "plein air" painters of the landscape. The village abounds with events: concerts, exhibitions, poetry readings, open markets and indigenous folk musicians. Nearby are cathedrals, museums and monasteries among them, the Musee Ingres in Montauban and The Augustins in Toulouse. The Moulin à Nef is located in the charming village of Auvillar, recognized as one of "les plus beaux villages de France." A village of 900 souls, it is situated between Toulouse and Bordeaux in a region rich with history and culture, both French and Occitan. Auvillar was once an important French ceramic center. A stopover on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Auvillar has a well-earned tradition of hospitality. Designated as one of France's "100 Most Beautiful Villages," Auvillar is set on the broad green Garonne River, with clearly visible remnants of ancient hilltop fortifications, monuments that go back centuries, nearby medieval cathedrals and museums to explore. The weekly market is a highlight. The village also has a butcher shop, bakery, pharmacy, tabac, post office and public email access, plus six eateries, ranging from a pizzeria to a four-star restaurant. The region is noted for medieval villages, Faience pottery, troubadour singing, cassoulet, foie gras, strawberries, exquisite wines and tantalizing cheeses.

Academic Program

The Painting and Drawing program will find housing in the friendly village of Auvillar, in southern France, in the Midi-Pyrenees region near Toulouse. The studios and housing for students, the Moulin à Nef, hosted by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, are ancient renovated port buildings located on the Garonne River and the pilgrimage route to Spain, Santiago de Compostella. A special 3-credit GenEd course, “The Way of St James” about the pilgrimage route, the Santiago de Compostella will include student interaction/interview of the contemporary pilgrims.

Landscape Drawing: An introductory to intermediate course with problems stressing the skills, approaches and concepts involved in drawing. Composed of problems in landscape, perspective, figure and still life with emphasis on composition and expressive possibilities. Basic skills will evolve into more complex problems utilizing a variety of media including pencil, conte, charcoal and experimental materials. Students will work in small groups with the instructor both indoors and in the field, ending each day with critiques in the studio facility. Outdoor on-site drawing sessions will encourage students to interact with the local community and build appreciation for the culture. Evening and weekend sessions will be devoted to looking at the drawings of Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Dominique Ingres and others. The group will take weekend excursions to near by museums, Musee Ingres in Montauban and The Augustins in Toulouse.

Landscape Painting: This course extends previous practice with design and drawing through daily experiences in painting. Introduction of materials and techniques in oil or acrylic painting with attention given to composition, setting up a palette, color mixing and paint mediums. Daily on-site focused painting sessions, (“one-shots”), and will lead to more complex paintings built on longer sessions and repeated visits to one site. Attention will be given to compositional structure, value as color, use of space and re-drawing of form. The “plein air” experience will allow for interaction and connection with the local culture and build understanding with the inhabitants of the region. Weekend visits to regional museums will enhance appreciation for well-known leading artists such as Toulouse Lautrec, Dominique Ingres, Eugene Delacroix and others.

Students will choose to study drawing or painting for 3 credits, and all participants will enroll in the GHUM/HIST course, for a total of 6 credit hours.

Instructional methods include lectures, field work, journal assignment and/or papers and tests/exams.

Tentative course offerings:
ART 392: Landscape Drawing, (3)
        or
ART 392: Landscape Drawing, (3)
        and
GHUM 251/HIST 341: Selected Themes in World History: The Way of St. James, (3)

Knowledge of the French language is not required, though of course it may be useful to you.

Accommodations

Our accommodations will be in the beautiful village of Auvillar.  For more information about the studios, please visit the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts web site at http://www.vcca.com/manstudios.html.  French cuisine will be provided for lunch and dinner (included in the program cost).  In addition to your course work, we will also take two guided train trips to nearby museums, also included in the program cost.  Transportation will be provided for you to and from the Toulouse airport to the village of Auvillar.    

Program Costs

For the current projected costs for this program, please click on the following link to the Fees for JMU Study Abroad Programs page.

Application

For more detailed instructions and to download the application, please click on the following link to the Applications and Forms section for JMU Short-Term Programs.

In addition to the application form, students should submit an essay and letter of recommendation from an instructor, and students must arrange a meeting with Professor Carbrey to show some examples of their artwork.

For More Information

For additional information about the Painting and Drawing in Southern France program, please contact the program directors:

Agnes Carbrey
School of Art and Art History
Tel: 540-463-5747
E-mail: carbreax@jmu.edu

Jennifer Lockard Connerley
History Department
Tel: 540-568-3990
E-mail: conne2jl@jmu.edu