Europe: Cheater’s Guide to Art Museums
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Vatican Museums, quiet and crowd-free, on a skip-the-line tour
I don’t know much about art but I know what I like.
Actually, that’s not true. I studied art history. In Australia. Do you know how crazy it is to study the culture of places you’ve never been and write about paintings you’ve never seen? Very crazy. I learnt more in two months of travel through Paris, Venice, Florence and London, than I did in three years of antipodean university.
For example, the Mona Lisa is very small. And many masterpieces of Renaissance paintings are painted onto walls between other artworks in dark churches still full of the faithful (and a lot of tourists).
Of course, Australia has great art, and some very good galleries. But they didn’t teach us about that. It was all slides of works from the other side of the world. I wish I’d got on that plane sooner. And I wish somebody had given me a guide to Europe’s top art museums. So here’s my own version.
The Hermitage, St Petersburg
This Hermitage really is the bees’ knees! Wow! Housed in the Winter Palace of Peter the Great, residence of the Russian tsars, it takes your breath away. There are over 3 million items in the collection. We wandered in a fairly unstructured way (what a surprise…) and looked at incredible paintings, then ended up seeing royal sleds and carriages which honestly changed my world view – no wonder there was a revolution – and made me fantasise of fur hats and being sped through the falling snow.
When I realised how much important world art Russia actually possesses I was amazed – I shouldn’t have been given that half the reproductions in those books I studied told me the work was in The Hermitage Collection. Gifts? Purchases? Who knows. But the Western Art collection alone fills 120 rooms across four of The Hermitage buildings. Wear very, very comfortable shoes. If you like art even a little bit, make the trip to The Hermitage. It is a life experience – their claim to have one of the finest collections in Europe is not an exaggeration. And St Petersburg is worth visiting in it’s own right. Beautiful.
The Louvre, Paris
The Louvre takes time. And, especially in Paris‘ high season, patience. Although last time I was there it was January, cold cold, but the queue to get in still snaked across the courtyard. However, The Louvre cannot be missed. If just for its sheer fame and scale. (If you want to skip the line at the Louvre, Viator has a tour for you.) I, for one, love the modern pyramid entrance in the courtyard; I think it lifts the building into modern times without denigrating the historic façade.
The Louvre in Paris, and its famous pyramid
Of course the obvious painting everyone goes to see is da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. So did I; and it was small. And the crowd deep. But she is the Posh Spice of art history so everyone wants to stare. Looking at her in the flesh, so to speak, you realise just how flat and untrue even the best art reproductions are; the way paint is applied, the way light reflects, even the cracking and fading of aging make it so worth seeing things in reality.
You’ll definitely need to pick up a guide to the Louvre and plan your trip a bit. Or use their website which has suggested self-tours. Closed Tuesdays, as are many Paris galleries.
National Gallery, London
Centrally located on Trafalgar Square, and free to get in, I use the National Gallery as a respite from crazy London. Overwhelmed by crowds and noise and bus fumes, I take refuge with some of the best paintings of the world. Because it’s free, you can keep coming back and do a few rooms at a time. Leave your heavy shopping bags in the cloakroom, located in the modern building at the far end, and wander at your will.
I often come in here and just sit on a bench and stare at a painting. If you can take a bit of time and just look, you really see a painting or sculpture for itself, rather than as something to be ticked of a list of must-sees, or as just one of an overwhelming collection of the world’s art history.
But, when travelling, time can be limited, and lingering a luxury. Maybe find your favourite work and give it five minutes, just to stare. I’m sure the artist would be grateful. And so will you.
Tate Museums, London
At the moment, the Tate Modern has a Rothko exhibition, the American artist who made huge paintings of just colour. Now these are paintings that demand you sit and stare for a while. Yes, you can walk on by and appreciate the pretty colours and wonder what all the fuss is about. But if you sit and let the painting wash over you, it’s amazing the emotional effect all that vibrating colour will have. Trust me. (The exhibition is on until 1 February 2009.)
The Tate Modern and the Tate Britain are both definitely worth visiting when in London. A riverboat connects them so you can have a Thames tour on your way from one to another.
The Tate Modern is in a wonderful converted power station and easy to find on the south bank of the Thames because of the high chimney. Approaching across the river on the Millennium Bridge is excellent if a little cold in winter, then enter the gallery from the main entrance around the side to get the full impact of the sloping concrete ex-turbine hall. There is always a great exhibit in this hall and then various galleries of permanent and temporary exhibitions on the other floors. Great bookshop and good cafes on the upper floors with views across the Thames.
The Tate Britain shows more historical art – from 1500 to now. And every year it hosts the Turner Art Prize, which is very modern and usually controversial. There are also Tate Galleries in Liverpool and St Ives in Cornwall.
Vatican Museums, Rome
Ah, Rome. Well, of course, the Vatican ranks up there with The Hermitage as a must visit. But, wow, the crowds and queues are not to be believed – we queued around the corner for nearly two hours. (Tip: pre-book a skip-the-line guided tour to the Vatican or a skip-the-line ticket (no tour) to the Vatican to avoid the crowds.)
Because the buildings were never designed to be galleries or to host this volume of people, the tight squeezes in some of the passageways, especially leading to The Sistine Chapel, can actually be a little frightening. If you don’t like crowds, definitely go for a private after-hours tour. This is also the best way to actually see the famous Michelangelo ceiling and also his Last Judgment. When I was there, we were crammed in so tightly and moved through so fast it was impossible to stop and look at these amazing paintings. I really didn’t enjoy my visit, having looked forward to it for literally years.
I did enjoy the other rooms and artists before the Sistine Chapel though and will definitely go back, but on a private tour.
Uffizi Gallery, Florence
I’ve been to Florence three times, walked past the Uffizi dozens of times, stayed around the corner twice, and never been inside. The queues put me off. And I was never organised enough to book ahead. But it does give me a reason to go back to Florence which has so many other fabulous things to see that missing the Uffizi has never actually seemed that big an issue. (Tip: pre-book a skip-the-line tour to the Uffizi Gallery or a skip-the-line ticket (no tour) to the Uffizi and skip the crowds; have a look at all of Viator’s Uffizi and Accademia gallery tours.)
But recently, via a BBC documentary, I became aware of the Vasari Corridor in Florence. Now my aim is to get inside it, although apparently it’s very difficult; most of it is closed to visitors (though again, Viator has a Vasari Corridor tour). Built for the Medici in 1565, it’s an elevated passageway across Florence, running for many kilometres, passing the Uffizi and crossing the Ponte Vecchio. These days it’s lined by self-portraits of artists through history to now. Fabulous given that Vasari who built it also wrote Lives of the Artists, our main source of information on the Italian Renaissance artists. I’d always seen this passageway passing over the buildings in Florence and never known what it was – now I do. But will I ever get inside…? Or indeed will I ever finally make it into the Uffizi…?
Centre Pompidou, Paris
I have to say I always find this building to be an ugly modern lump from an unfortunate era. That said, I like the Centre Pompidou gallery. I have spent hours wandering through the permanent collection. The diversity and the number of works made me tired and happy. And the building does work well as a gallery – better from inside than outside for me.
I also like the views of Paris from the upper floors – sometimes I’ve been known to spend more time staring out over the city than at art. You can go up to the sixth floor to look at the view for free. To see the art, you need to buy a ticket. You can do that online but I have never experienced long queues at the Pompidou, then again, I have never gone there in midsummer.
Planning a trip? Paris art & museum tours to Rome Vatican tours and more over on Viator.com. If you need a place to stay, check out Florence Hotels on Planetware.com.
Source: Scott Mc