One of the most impactful experiences for an art history student is the opportunity to observe a work of art in person. I was part of a lucky group of art history students from the Newcomb Art Department who got the chance to witness, in the flesh, some of the greatest works of art ever created.
Taking place over the Mardi Gras break, this whirlwind art exploration was made possible through generous funding by Sandy Heller (A&S '94), a New York City-based art advisor. The trip brought together a group of students from Holly Flora’s seminar on Medieval Italian Art and from Stephanie Porras’s course Van Eyck to Bruegel: Northern Renaissance Art. Our group received private tours of the Revoir Cimabue exhibition in the Louvre, the Foundation Custodia in Paris, and the Siena: Rise of Painting traveling exhibition in the National Gallery. Accompanying these tours, we had the opportunity to learn directly from museum curators Professor Thomas Bohl (Musée du Louvre) and Dr. Cecile Tainturier (Foundation Custodia), as well as Newcomb Art Department Professors Flora, Porras, and Leslie Geddes.
Flora shared, "It's been a huge honor to be able to teach courses framed around museum exhibitions and to be able to take students to see works of art in person — and make connections with curators in museums like the Louvre.”
The Louvre is one of the most famous museums in the world, and boasts a collection of old master paintings, dynamic sculptures, and priceless antiquities from across the globe. We were able to experience the Revoir Cimabue exhibition privately with Flora and Bohl.
Flora previously worked in the museum world in New York and curated the exhibition Cimabue and Early Italian Devotional Painting, at the Frick Collection. We were also able to attend her public lecture at the Louvre, Cimabue and the Franciscans, which coincided with our trip — learning about works discussed in class back at Tulane, such as Madonna Enthroned.
“Visiting the Louvre’s A New Look at Cimabue exhibition was my favorite part of our trip,” shared Marjorie Kennedy (SLA ‘25). “We were given a wonderful tour by the curator Dr. Bohl, and I was so thrilled to see the works we’d been studying in class!”
The next day, we returned to the museum to further explore the Louvre’s extensive collection. It was incredible to listen to faculty experts Porras and Geddes as they walked through the museum and lectured on the works of art on display. Their passion and breadth of knowledge was apparent, which made the experience more thrilling.
“As a professor, it is incredibly rewarding to have students in front of the objects they’ve studied,” Porras shared. “It is truly a transformative experience, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip.”
At the Foundation Custodia, our group received another private tour, this time with curator Tainturier. From the museum archives, she brought out priceless cartoons and prints from master artists such as Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt.
After an exhilarating few days in Paris, we traveled to London to visit the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The journey was not without a few hiccups, as a WWII bomb was discovered a few miles from Paris, prompting a cancellation of all Eurostar trains, including ours — which led to an impromptu flight and an interesting story to tell! But we all arrived in London, even if several hours later than we hoped to.
A lifelong art lover and advocate for arts education, Heller sponsored the creation of the Strategy, Leadership, and Analytics Minors (SLAM) course titled “How to Acquire a Work of Art.” He continues to support the class, which is taught by one of his former professors, Michael Plante. During that course, SLAM students (and many Art History majors) had the chance to learn from curators, gallery collectors, and other members of the art world. Students also went through the very real process of purchasing two pieces of art, now on display in School of Liberal Arts buildings.
“What I love about art is, we’re all students here — if you’re a viewer of art, you’re a student. And art is the teacher,” Heller told Tulane Magazine in 2018. “Great art has the ability to transport and transcend. It’s going to take you somewhere as long as you’re open to letting that happen.”
The trip concluded with an amazing day at the National Gallery, where we carefully combed our way through the Siena: The Rise of Painting, an exhibition on the innovative artists and creative power of central Italy during the 14th century, and brought together some of the monumental paintings created there during that period. This was another special chance to interact with the artworks we study in our coursework. This experience was so meaningful to me and my classmates because it not only allowed us to view individual pieces of art firsthand, but granted us the chance to immerse ourselves in the culture we discuss in the classroom.