Skip to main content

Coming of Age as a Traveller

John Soane brought the Grand Tour, a period of travel for young, elite, English men to learn about culture and history, to his own home for his students to study.
Sir John Soanes Musuem
Photo found here.

English travellers often went to places like Venice with an idea that the entire city will be as it is in idealistic paintings.
Venice:The Grand Canal with S. Simeone Piccolo, Canaletto, about 1740
Photographed at The National Gallery, London

This piece too provides an idealistic, fantasy view of Venice for English travellers to expect - one highly praised by Ruskin, and art critic who many Englishmen admired and respected.
St Benedetto, Looking towards Fusina, JMW Turner, 1842
Photographed at Tate Britain.

Turner, widely known for his travel paintings, portrays Venice with historical greats, suggesting to English travellers that the city is full of their influence on the architecture and art -  a tempting proposition.
Rome from the Vatican. Raffaelle, Accompanied by La Fornarina, Preparing his Pictures for the Decoration of the Loggia, JMW Turner, 1820
Photographed at Tate Britain.

A view shared with the gardeners of the Pope's private garden is not something the English would expect to see on their Grand Tours, but it could be what they take away from them in the end.
St. Peter's and te Vatican from the Gardens of the Villa Barberini, Rome, JMW Turner, 1819
Photographed at Tate Britain

When a person lives life as a traveller, it is often the little things they remember and take away as opposed the the big, touristy places they went; they view the world through its simple, universal moments such as a stay at an inn at sunset.
An Old Man holding a Pilgrim-Bottle, unknown Italian artist, probably 1650s
Photographed at the National Gallery, London



Comments

  1. Professor SteeleJuly 24, 2017 at 10:51 PM

    These are wonderful captions; you'd make a fine docent to these galleries!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coming of Age as a Worker

Many working women of the 19th century  (including   Jane Eyre herself) felt trapped, like a caged bird. From  The Sick Room  by Emma Brownlow, photographed in the Foundling Museum Foundlings were stripped of their individuality,  put in  uniforms,  and raised to all pursue the same professions. Photographed at the Foundling Museum Poor children and orphans could only expect to become servants or soldiers, both respectable jobs which nevertheless involved hard work and little pay. Taking Leave  by Emma Brownlow, photographed at the Foundling Museum A governess may be as well educated as a women of class,but that  does  not  mean  she receives the same benefits, luxuries, or esteem as the woman of class. Photographed at the Geffrye Museum Some working women appreciated that,  unlike the  women they  served,  they were  able to experience  the accomplishment of a day of hard work. Photographed in the Geffrye Museum After
6 comments
Read more

Coming of Age as a Londoner

Our final project for our class was to make a film summing up everything we learned about being global citizens since we came to London. TCU's mission statement is so important to the things we do as TCU students, so Rachel and I kept it in mind throughout the process of creating this film. You can find the film  here . Enjoy! Given more time and resources we would have planned this out more. Rachel and I were partners in this, but we didn't know that would be the case until week four. If we had, we may have been able to come up with an idea early and create a film that tells a story or one that interviews museum docents. I believe we both would have filmed a ton more footage and it would have been very nice to have had a professional camera to use as well as professional audio-recording equipment. However, I am very pleased with the film as it is and I think it adequately shows what we learned and what we did during our five weeks here. Thank you, London, for showing m
Post a Comment
Read more

Coming of Age as a Global Citizen

Brixton is primarily occupied by people of color and is known to be a rough neighborhood; however, it's wonderful to take the time to appreciate the rich and colorful culture in Brixton created by people who are important members of the global community. London Landscape , James Fitton, 1948 Photographed in Museum of London This shirt (unfortunately obscured by other outfits) features the logo of the punk band Crass. The logo incorporates a cross, a Union Jack, a Celtic snake, an anarchy symbol, and a swastika. Cross was not unlike Charlie's band The Condemned in the Buddha of Suburbia, which was a symptom of a large cultural change occurring in the '70s and '80s in London. Photographed at Museum of London By the 1970s, gay pride was a movement where members of the global community fought for equal rights and respect. Of course, this is still and issue today, closely related to the women's rights movements. Photographed at Museum of London Zabr
Post a Comment
Read more