DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

During Week 5, we spent a majority of the time discussing from The Art of Travel by De Botton.

 

Provence, France was a "trendy place" that was full of Roman ruins, medieval churches, lavender fields, etc. De Botton didn't grasp the beauty beforehand but well-known artist Vincent Van Gogh helped paint the picture for him. Van Gogh came from a background of ministers & artists, and oddly enough he joined both fields... but obviously only continued on with one of them. Van Gogh is known for lovely paintings such as "Starry Night" and "Cafe Terrace"-- I happen to love his use of bold color. Van Gogh is typically distinguished by exaggerating his ideas. He likes to paint so that the viewer can picture exactly what he sees. I personally have never been to France, so with the way he portrays these places in his artwork, I can really understand what he envisioned.

 

Further on we read of two particular places, Arles(sunny, bright, exotic) and St. Remy. We read of the cypress tress and how "flame-like" they are. On pages 189-190, De Botton goes on to relate his thoughts to Van Gogh's.

  

We also carried on discussing The Grand Tour with a central focus on Venice... but that could all be read here.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.