Art Trip to Venice
On the 11th of February 2016, 22 GCSE and A-Level Art students, Ms Wilcox and Ms Gilson flew to Venice in north-eastern Italy.
We began the trip by going up the Campanile in St Marco’s square, a bell tower which was originally built in the 9th century. From the top of the tower, at 98m high, we were able to have a 360 degree view over Venice. Later that day, we visited the Basilica di San Marco, the city’s most famous cathedral and a great example of Italo-Byzantine architecture. It is known for its mosaics depicting the tales of Saint Mark as well as its fascinating historical and religious artefacts. We then explored the Doge Palace, a historical and political centre in Venice which was the residence of the Doge of Venice (the supreme authority of the former Republic of Venice). We were particularly interested in the beautiful Giant’s Staircase, used for formal entrances to the palace, guarded by two colossal statues of Mars and Neptune to show Venice’s great power on both land and sea. We spent a few hours here doing some direct observational sketching.
We also went to one of the most important museums in Italy for European and American art of the 20th century, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Peggy Guggenheim was an American art collector and socialite who was captivated by art from a vast range of movements including Dada, Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism and Cubism. We saw pieces from some of the world’s most prolific artists, such as Picasso’s ‘On the Beach’, Jackson Pollock’s ‘Alchemy’ and Alberto Giacometti’s ‘Woman Walking’. At the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, we saw works from the infamous sculptor Auguste Rodin, who modelled the human body with realism and celebrated individual character and physicality. Rodin unintentionally rebelled against sculpture traditions, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic; it was incredible to see pieces from such an influential artist as him.
On the third day, we took a boat to Murano, famous for its incredible glass-making. Up to this day, the artisans of Murano glass are still employing century-old techniques which they perfected generation after generation, crafting everything from contemporary art, sculptures and jewellery to Murano glass tables, pendant lights and large chandeliers. Later on, we visited Burano, the island known for its multi-coloured houses. Originally drenched in highly-saturated tones so local fishermen could see them to navigate through fog, the colours are now part of Burano’s appeal as an oft-visited retreat from Venice.
On our final day, we all made camera obscuras (an optical device which came before the modern camera). We used magnifying glasses as convex lenses in a darkened box, which allowed an image of whatever the lens was pointed at to be projected on a Perspex screen. We traced various images onto our Perspex sheets, studying different architecture around the city. Overall, this was a trip full of wonderful art, funny memories and a lot of gelato. Thank-you very much to Ms Wilcox and Ms Gilson for being such wonderful (and tolerant) chaperones and for making this trip so memorable!
