Three Outsiders: Pissarro, Caillebotte, Toulouse-Lautrec



Overview

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford hosts one of the world’s greatest collections of the art of Camille Pissarro, the oldest and most politically radical of the Impressionist artists, and descendant of a Jewish family in the Danish West Indies.

Gustave Caillebotte was a wealthy artist and bachelor who did not need to sell his work; his best-known painting The Floor-Scrapers (1875) is both fascinating and controversial.

Finally, we will investigate Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, an aristocrat with inherited disabilities, whose paintings and posters made the clubs of Montmartre his own.

Each of these ‘outsiders’ has left an exceptional body of work for us to study and enjoy.

A visit to the Ashmolean Museum to see paintings by Pissarro and drawings by Pissarro and Toulouse-Lautrec is included. 

This course is part of The Oxford Experience summer school programme, held at Christ Church.

Programme details

Daily schedule

Seminars meet each weekday morning after breakfast. 

After lunch, afternoons are free for individual study or exploring the many places of interest in and around the city. Optional plenary excursions and social activities including walking tours will also be available.

The course fee includes breakfasts Monday-Saturday (residential guests only), lunches Sunday-Friday, and three-course dinners Sunday-Thursday. All meals are taken in Christ Church’s spectacular dining hall. 

On Friday, there will be a special four-course gala dinner to celebrate the closing of the week. 

Seminars and field trip

Monday seminars

  • Camille Pissarro in Venezuela and Paris
  • Pissarro and Caillebotte: The early Impressionist exhibitions

Tuesday seminars

  • Toulouse-Lautrec: Origins and early years
  • Pissarro and Caillebotte: Later Impressionist exhibitions 

Wednesday seminars

  • Toulouse-Lautrec Posters
  • Caillebotte: His later years

Thursday field trip

Morning field trip to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Excursion rating: Easy - up to an hour’s walk on even ground or less than half an hour’s walk on uneven/unpaved ground.

Friday seminars

  • Toulouse-Lautrec: His later years
  • Camille Pissarro: His later years

Certification

Participants will receive a physical Certificate of Attendance at the end of the course.

You will also be eligible for a digital badge of attendance. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. This digital badge will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so. 

Fees

Description Costs
Fee option 1 (single en suite accom and meals per person) £2310.00
Fee option 2 (single standard accom and meals per person) £2200.00
Fee option 3 (double en suite accom and meals per person) £2190.00
Fee option 4 (twin en suite accom and meals per person) £2190.00
Fee option 5 (twin set standard accom and meals per person) £2190.00
Fee option 6 (no accom; incl lunch and dinner per person) £1615.00

Funding

Please note there are no sources of funding (scholarships, bursaries, etc) available for applicants.

Payment

All fees are charged on a per week, per person basis.

Please be aware that all payments made via non-UK credit/debit cards and bank accounts are subject to the exchange rate on the day they are processed.

Payment terms

  • If enrolling online: full payment by credit/debit card at the time of booking.
  • If submitting an enrolment form: full payment online by credit/debit card or via bank transfer within 30 days of invoice date.

Supplementary costs

  • Any excursions listed in the 'programme details' above are included in the course fees and do not require a separate payment.
  • If your course includes a day-long excursion, you may need to make your own lunch arrangements.
  • Any optional, extra ticketed activities not detailed in the 'programme details' above may incur an additional cost. A social programme outlining these options will be sent to you in advance of the course start date.
  • Course transfer fee: Please note that course transfers may be permitted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the programme administrator, up to the 1 May 2025. In accordance with our Terms and Conditions, an administration fee of £50 will be charged.

Cancellations and refunds

1. Cancellation by you

Participants who wish to cancel must inform the Programme Administrator in writing: by email to oxfordexperience@conted.ox.ac.uk, or by post to The Oxford Experience, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Square, OXFORD, OX1 2JA, UK. Participants are welcome to use the optional cancellation form.

The following cancellation and refund policy applies in all cases:

  • Cancellation within 14 days of online enrolment / payment of fees – full refund of all fees paid. 

  • Cancellations received up to and including 30 April 2025 – OUDCE will retain an administration fee of £100 per week booked; all other fees paid will be refunded.
  • Cancellations received between 1-31 May 2025 – OUDCE will retain 60% of the fees paid; the remaining 40% of fees paid will be refunded.
  • Cancellations received on and after 1 June 2025 - no refunds will be made under any circumstances.

It is not possible to transfer enrolments or fees to future years of The Oxford Experience under any circumstances. Where course fees have been paid in currencies other than pounds sterling, refunds will be subject to the exchange rate on the day they are processed.

2. Cancellation by us

Where there is good reason, OUDCE reserves the right to cancel a course by giving you notice in writing at any time before the course is due to start. In these cases, we will endeavour to offer a transfer to another available course if practical and acceptable to you, subject to payment or refund of any difference in course fees. Alternatively, we will refund the course fees that you have already paid. If we cancel a course, our liability is limited to the fees that we have received from you; this means that we will not compensate you for any pre-booked travel costs or any other expenses incurred. The status of this course will be reviewed on 1 May 2025. If it is likely that the course may be cancelled, anyone affected will be notified by email within 7 days; if you have not heard from OUDCE by 8 May 2025, you should assume that your course will be running. You may wish to delay finalising your travel arrangements until after this date.

OUDCE reserves the right to cancel a course at short notice in exceptional circumstances that would prevent the course from being delivered e.g. tutor illness. In these rare instances, and if we are unable to find a replacement tutor, we will notify you as soon as possible and arrange a transfer to another available Oxford Experience course. If we cancel a course, our liability is limited to the fees that we have received from you; this means that we will not compensate you for any pre-booked travel costs or any other expenses incurred.

Where course fees have been paid in currencies other than pounds sterling, refunds will be subject to the exchange rate on the day they are processed.

3. Travel insurance

All participants must purchase travel insurance to cover the programme fee, travel costs, and any other expenses incurred. OUDCE cannot be held responsible for any costs you may incur in relation to travel or accommodation bookings as a result of a course cancellation, or if you are unable to attend the course for any other reason. 

Tutor

Dr Jan Cox

Tutor

Dr Jan D. Cox received a first-class honours degree from Oxford Brookes University, where he was awarded the Jeanne Sheehy Memorial Prize. An MA from Bristol was followed by a PhD at Leeds investigating the impact of Nordic art in Europe in the 1880s. He has delivered conference papers in Britain, Scandinavia, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Germany and Canada. In 2017, Dr Cox was the major contributor to the exhibition catalogue Romanticism in the North – from Friedrich to Turner and has since published two book chapters on 19th century Danish art. He is the author of the University of Oxford short course The Impressionists: Painting Modern Life which he has tutored since its inception.

Teaching methods

Participants will be taught in seminar groups of up to 12 people. The teaching methods used during this course may include:

  • Short lectures/presentations
  • Physical handouts
  • Seminars/group discussions
  • Video recordings
  • Tutor-led field trip

Application

Single occupancy accommodation and non-residential

Single accommodation and non-residential places may be booked directly online by clicking on the 'book now' button. Please do not complete an enrolment form for these.

If you have trouble booking online, please contact the programme administrator via oxfordexperience@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Twin and double accommodation

If you wish to book a twin or double room for two people, each person should complete an enrolment form and send this to us by email.

The form is an editable PDF and can be competed electronically, so you should not need to print and scan it.  Completed forms should be sent by email to: oxfordexperience@conted.ox.ac.uk

If you would prefer to print and post your enrolment form, please send to: The Oxford Experience, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Square, OXFORD, OX1 2JA, UK

Level and demands

The Oxford Experience is aimed at non-specialists: no prior knowledge is required, and classes are pitched at an introductory level. The courses are designed for an international audience aged 18 and over.

There are no assessments for this course.

Accommodation

During your course you can stay in typical Oxford student accommodation at Christ Church, in buildings which range from the 18th to the 20th century. Please note that bedrooms are modestly-furnished and do not have air-conditioning.

The course fee includes breakfasts Monday-Saturday (residential guests only), lunches Sunday-Friday, and three-course dinners Sunday-Thursday. On Friday, there will be a special four-course gala dinner to celebrate the closing of the week. All meals are taken in Christ Church’s spectacular dining hall. 

We are unable to arrange accommodation at Christ Church prior to or following your course. Please contact Christ Church directly if you require additional nights of bed and breakfast accommodation, and they may be able to assist. Additionally, family or friends who are not enrolled in the programme cannot be accommodated in college. 

Single bedrooms

  • Single en suite

  • Single standard

En suite rooms include private bathroom facilities (shower, washbasin and toilet). Standard rooms include a washbasin and shaver point only, with bathroom facilities shared with other rooms.

These rooms can be booked directly online.

Shared bedrooms

Double and twin bedrooms are only available for two participants that apply to the programme together. They are charged per person and cannot be booked by individuals.

  • Double en suite
  • Twin en suite
  • ‘Twin set’ standard

En suite rooms include private bathroom facilities (shower, washbasin and toilet). 'Twin set’ standard rooms comprise two separate single standard rooms, each with a washbasin and shaver point only, opening onto a private sitting room, with bathroom facilities shared with other rooms.

If you wish to book a twin or double room for two people, each person should complete an enrolment form as these rooms cannot be booked online. See the 'application' section above for more details. 

Ground/lower floor accommodation

Christ Church rooms do not have lift access, and the higher rooms can be located up a few flights of stairs. If you need a room on a ground or lower floor please indicate this on your enrolment form, or contact the programme administrator directly at oxfordexperience@conted.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible before 1 June. 

Non-residential

We also offer places on a non-residential basis whereby participants can take classes and have lunch and dinner at Christ Church, having arranged their own accommodation elsewhere. Enrolments for non-residential places can be booked directly online.

Participants attending multiple weeks

The Oxford Experience welcomes participants who want to attend multiple courses over the summer. Resident participants staying in Christ Church for consecutive weeks can have bed and breakfast accommodation arranged for the Saturday night between their courses.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support