categories + archives: classic

engaging with sorolla at sotheby’s new york

Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923) is a Spanish artist well known for his paintings depicting the people of his native Spain.  I recently included his monumental series –  “The Provinces of Spain” at the Hispanic Society in New York – … Continue reading →

the last: day 5 of 5: travelling to Europe in the 18th century (Venice)

Michele Marieschi, Venice: The Piazza San Marco from the Torre dell’Orologio, courtesy of Sotheby’s As the summer vacations are on us, I thought it interesting to look back at what travelling to Europe – and in particular Paris, Rome, Naples and Venice … Continue reading →

day 4 of 5: travelling to Europe in the 18th century (Naples)

Continuing along on our Grand Tour, this week we’ve visited Paris and Rome and now we move further south in Italy.  Pompeii, the Roman city lost to Vesuvius in 79AD, was rediscovered by a Spanish engineer in 1748.  Located just … Continue reading →

day 3 of 5: travelling to Europe in the 18th century (Rome – Decorative Art)

image credit: Badminton Cabinet: copyright © 2013 FĂĽrstliche Sammlungen Art Service GmbH & Co. OG / The Princely Collections of Lichtenstein Yesterday our Grand Tour brought us to Rome after a stop in Paris, and as everyone knows, one day … Continue reading →

day 2 of 5: travelling to Europe in the 18th Century (Rome – Fine Art)

Continuing with our Grand Tour, after yesterday’s visit to Paris, the traveller would head south.  Many tourists would buy a coach and horses to accommodate their friends and tutor to travel across the continent in style.  The trip usually went … Continue reading →

day 1 of 5: travelling to Europe in the 18th century (Paris)

On the eve of the mass exodus to Europe for summer vacation, I thought it apropos to look back at what European travel was like in the golden age of grand tourists in the 18th century.  As such, this week’s … Continue reading →

paintings from the hermitage return to england

Houghton Hall, Yorkshire, England image credit: Houghton International In an unprecedented move, The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg is temporarily reuniting 126 major Old Master paintings with their ancestral home of Houghton Hall in Norfolk, England from 17 May to … Continue reading →