Grand Tour
Related: Alps - tourism - Europe - Italy - France - UK - sublime - 1700s
Viewmaster series of the Grand Tour of Europe.
Image sourced here.The eighteenth century was the golden age of the Grand Tour of Europe for wealthy British noblemen. The modern equivalent of the Grand Tour is the phenomenon of the backpacker. [Mar 2006]
Most major British artists of the eighteenth century did the "Grand Tour", as did their great European contemporaries such as Claude Lorrain. Classical architecture, literature and art have always drawn visitors to Rome, Naples, Florence.
On their way to Italy, English travellers had to cross the Alps. Inspired by the scenery of fast flowing rivers and frightening mountain gorges they coined the notion of the sublime. [Mar 2006]
E. M. Forster's 1908 novel A Room with a View and its 1985 film adaptation is an example of the Grand Tour. [Mar 2006]
Definition
In the 18th century, the Grand Tour was a kind of education for wealthy British noblemen. It was a period of European travel which could last from a few months to 8 years. During the Tour, young men learned about the politics, culture, art and antiquities of neighboring countries. They spent their time sightseeing, studying, and shopping. Italy with its heritage of ancient Roman monuments became one of the most popular places to visit. At the same time, art students from all parts of Europe also came to Italy to learn from ancient models. Sometimes, the trip south was as liberating sexually as it was aesthetically, as several erotic drawings show.
France was the height of style and sophistication, so young men went there to throw off their coarse behavior and put on the polish that set them apart as the aristocracy of Britain. Under the watchful eye of his tutor and cared for by his valet, the young man set off. The first step in the tour was to cross the English Channel to Calais, France. For many young men, this was a test in itself since seasickness was often the result of turbulent crossing. In Paris, all outward traces of the backward Briton were erased as he was fitted for a totally French wardrobe. Dressed like a Frenchman, he was now ready to be introduced to French society. After his introduction in France, the tourist went on to Dijon, Lyon, and finally Marseille.
During the 19th century, most educated young men took the Grand Tour. Later, it became also fashionable for young women. A trip to Italy with a spinster aunt as chaperon was part of the upper-class lady's education.
The success of Thomas Coryat's book Coryat's Crudities is often credited with starting the craze for the Grand Tour. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour [Sept 2005]
The word tour gained acceptance in the 18th century, when the Grand Tour of Europe became part of the upbringing of the educated and wealthy British nobleman or cultured gentleman. Grand tours were taken in particular by young people to "complete" their education. They travelled all over Europe, but notably to places of cultural and aesthetic interest, such as Rome, Tuscany, and the Alps.
The British aristocracy were particularly keen on the Grand Tour, using the occasion to gather art treasures from Europe to add to their collections. The volume of art treasures being moved to Britain in this way was unequalled anywhere else in Europe, and explains the richness of many private and public collections in Britain today. Yet tourism in those days, aimed essentially at the very top of the social ladder and at the well educated, was fundamentally a cultural activity. These first tourists, though undertaking their Grand Tour, were more travellers than tourists.
Most major British artists of the eighteenth century did the "Grand Tour", as did their great European contemporaries such as Claude Lorrain. Classical architecture, literature and art have always drawn visitors to Rome, Naples, Florence.
The Romantic movement (inspired throughout Europe by the English poets William Blake and Lord Byron, among others), extended this to Gothic countryside, the Alps, fast flowing rivers, mountain gorges, etc. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism#The_Grand_Tour [Sept 2005]