Florence Part One Trip
Nov
8
to Nov 12

Florence Part One Trip

Friday 8th - Tuesday 12th November

Itinerary includes visits to the Uffizi, Accademia, Duomo, Baptistery, Bargello, San Marco Monastery & Santa Croce

This four day cultural study tour to Florence will include detailed morning and afternoon tours, providing the opportunity to experience first-hand stunning masterpieces by incredible and revolutionary painters, sculptors and architects. A small Gallery Talks group will be carefully guided by Julie through the treasure trove of art in the churches and museums of this wonderful city, which still retains an astoundingly dense concentration of great works of art. Whilst discovering the beauty and history of the art and appreciating the craftsmanship of the artists who created this inspirational city, we will also soak up the vibrant Florentine atmosphere and sample the delights of Italian cuisine.

Florence is one of the loveliest cities in the world, with the River Arno running through it and surrounded by a circle of hills, and with its harmonious Medieval and Renaissance architecture dominated by Brunelleschi’s immense dome. The cradle of the Renaissance, Florence is where the foundations for 500 years of Western art were laid and a succession of great artists were nurtured; Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael.

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Venice Trip
Mar
21
to Mar 25

Venice Trip

Friday 21st - Tuesday 25th March

This four day cultural study tour to Venice will include detailed morning and afternoon tours through some of the rich artistic treasures of this historical city. The carefully compiled itinerary will combine some of the most famous sights in Venice with lesser known tranquil places. Visits likely to be included in the itinerary are to the Basilica di San Marco, the Accademia, Scuolo di San Rocco, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, San Giorgio Maggiore and Torcello. We'll admire Venetian Renaissance master painters such as Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Titian, be awe-inspired by splendid Byzantine mosaics and compare the ornate and colourful facades of Venice's Gothic palaces with the serene classicism of Palladio's Renaissance churches.

Venice is one of the most beautiful and best preserved cities in the world, floating on water and bathed in a shimmering light. The quality of the architecture, the changing colours of the lagoon and its unique position make Venice the most enchanting city in Italy, with a myriad of picturesque canals, large and small squares, many bridges and narrow streets. In addition to its superb museums, the churches and palaces of Venice provide an unparalleled opportunity to appreciate works of art in the context and atmosphere for which they were intended.

THIS TRIP IS FULLY BOOKED

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Venice Trip
Oct
3
to Oct 7

Venice Trip

Friday 21st - Tuesday 25th March

This four day cultural study tour to Venice will include detailed morning and afternoon tours through some of the rich artistic treasures of this historical city. The carefully compiled itinerary will combine some of the most famous sights in Venice with lesser known tranquil places. Visits likely to be included in the itinerary are to the Basilica di San Marco, the Accademia, Scuolo di San Rocco, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, San Giorgio Maggiore and Torcello. We'll admire Venetian Renaissance master painters such as Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Titian, be awe-inspired by splendid Byzantine mosaics and compare the ornate and colourful facades of Venice's Gothic palaces with the serene classicism of Palladio's Renaissance churches.

Venice is one of the most beautiful and best preserved cities in the world, floating on water and bathed in a shimmering light. The quality of the architecture, the changing colours of the lagoon and its unique position make Venice the most enchanting city in Italy, with a myriad of picturesque canals, large and small squares, many bridges and narrow streets. In addition to its superb museums, the churches and palaces of Venice provide an unparalleled opportunity to appreciate works of art in the context and atmosphere for which they were intended.

THIS TRIP IS FULLY BOOKED

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Charleston Farmhouse Visit
Jun
28
10:45 AM10:45

Charleston Farmhouse Visit

20th Century
Art at Charleston Farmhouse:
Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant

Gallery Talks visit to Charleston Farmhouse, Firle, East Sussex from 10.45am until 3.30pm.

Julie will guide the group through each of the rooms and studios inside the house, which is surrounded by the beauty of the South Downs and a work of modernist art in its own right. After lunch in the Threshing Barn café, the group will visit the special exhibitions and have time to enjoy the wonderful gardens.

There will then be an optional visit to nearby Berwick Church to admire the newly-restored stunning Bloomsbury murals.

Charleston Farmhouse, home to Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant in the early 20th century, is a hidden treasure of peace and beauty where the Bloomsbury free-flowing decorative style is to be found throughout the entire house. In the iconic interior, barely a surface is left undecorated; paintings fill the walls, tables and chairs are colourfully hand painted and patterned murals embellish the walls, fireplaces and door frames. Furniture, fabrics, rugs and ceramics created collaboratively by the Bloomsbury set are incorporated into the overall décor, alongside lovingly collected objects. A hideaway and focal point of the Bloomsbury group and a testament to its ideology, Charleston embodies their exuberance of spirit, experimental way of life and desire for sensibility. Designed as a living painting, the garden provides a setting for quiet contemplation as well as of discovery and excitement.

If you would like to join the group for this tour, please contact me and I will send you further details.

 

Dining table decoration and handmade wallpaper by Vanessa Bell, pottery lamp by Quentin Bell, chair by Omega Workshop, portrait painting by Duncan Grant

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Apsley House Tour
Mar
17
11:00 AM11:00

Apsley House Tour

16th - 19th Centuries
Art in the Wellington Collection:
Titian, Rubens, Velázquez, Bruegel, Goya

Gallery Talks art tour of the magnificent Wellington Collection at Apsley House, Piccadilly, London, home to the Dukes of Wellington.

Apsley House is the only historic London mansion to retain the majority of its contents, a circumstance which creates a unique opportunity; many of the works of art were collected by the 1st Duke of Wellington and some of the finest are from the Spanish Royal Collection, which were presented to the Duke as a gift from King Ferdinand VII of Spain.

This extraordinary and internationally important art collection includes masterpieces by Titian, Correggio, Velázquez, Rubens, Bruegel and Goya. The Wellington Collection is displayed in sumptuous interiors such as the Waterloo Gallery and the Piccadilly Drawing Room which have been carefully restored to the aspect they would have worn in Wellington’s day and where the stunning paintings are densely hung.

Apsley House, also known as Number One London, has been a family home to the Dukes of Wellington since the early 19th century and visitors today have the rare experience of viewing the art collection in the rooms in which it was originally shown. The house, together with a large part of its contents, was presented to the nation in 1947 as a gift from the 7th Duke of Wellington and, whilst the family retain apartments in part of the house, the museum is now cared for and run by English Heritage.

If you would like to join the group for this tour, please contact me and I will send you further details.

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Florence Part Two Trip
Mar
7
to Mar 11

Florence Part Two Trip

Thursday 7th or Friday 8th - Monday 11th March

On Friday 8th March, there will be an optional visit to the Uffizi Galleries.

Itinerary includes visits to the Palazzo Pitti & Boboli Gardens, Santa Maria Novella, Palazzo Vecchio, Casa Buonarotti, San Lorenzo & Medici Chapels.

Florence is one of the loveliest cities in the world, with the River Arno running through it and surrounded by a circle of hills and its harmonious Medieval and Renaissance architecture dominated by Brunelleschi’s immense dome. The cradle of the Renaissance, the foundations for 500 years of western art were laid in Florence and it nurtured a succession of great artists, including Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael.

This cultural study tour will provide the opportunity to experience first-hand stunning masterpieces by these and more incredible and revolutionary painters, sculptors and architects. Each morning and afternoon, a small Gallery Talks group will be carefully guided by Julie through the treasure trove of art in the churches and museums of this wonderful city which still retains an astoundingly dense concentration of great works of art. Whilst discovering the beauty and history of art and appreciating the skilled craftsmanship of the artists who created this inspirational city, we will also sample the delights of Italian food and soak up the vibrant Florentine atmosphere!

Read More »

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