Truly a Voyage to Remember by PETER TRIPPI GH

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Truly a Voyage to Remember By PETER TRIPPI GH

lthough its official name was the A Russian Art Cruise, Fine Art Con- noisseur’s first adventure abroad (August 7- 14) actually delivered even more by intro- ducing our guests to the cultural riches of St. Petersburg in the context of the Baltic region as a whole. Conceived by FAC publisher Eric Rhoads, this voyage proved an ideal way to mix world-class art and architecture with five- star comforts and a delightfully cohesive group of passengers who eagerly shared with each other their passion for artistic beauty and quality. (Our group’s camaraderie was particularly noteworthy considering its di- versity: We came from the U.S., Canada, and China, and ranged in age from the early 20s to mid-80s.) On August 7, this merry band of collectors, artists, and enthusiasts met for the first time over cocktails on the Lido deck of the LAURIE AND ERIC RHOADS 922-passenger Crystal Symphony as it glided WITH CINTHIA JOYCE out of Copenhagen’s harbor at sunset on a balmy evening. After changing into more formal attire, the guests reassembled in the ship’s main dining room for the first of five dinners together; the seating plans changed each evening so that, by the end of the week, all participants had found an opportunity to converse with everyone else. The Crystal Sym- phony is itself a work of art, encompassing a spa, gym, casino, boutiques, and several bars and performance spaces, not to mention two specialty restaurants operated by chefs Nobu Matsuhisa and Piero Selvaggio. BARBARA AND CHARLES ROBINSON WITH JUDITH POND KUDLOW SCOTT CHRISTENSEN AND KRISTIE GRIGG GETTING ORIENTED JEANINE JACKSON On our first morning cruising the re- AND ROGER ROSSI markably calm Baltic, we gathered in the ship’s plush cinema for a formal welcome by Eric Rhoads and the first of my three illustrated lectures on-board, “The Baltic World: What Every Art Lover Needs to Know.” Offering detailed maps and thumbnail portraits of this region’s historical movers and shakers, these one-hour talks were intended to prepare guests for what they would encounter on shore. Also introduced was Gabriel Haigazian of Creative Travel

FINE ART CONNOISSEUR.COM | November/December 2010 Copyright 2010 Fine Art Connoisseur. Used by Permission. Planners, who coordinated every detail of the voyage — in advance and Back aboard the Symphony that evening, I lectured on the history of on site — with both rigor and a contagious sense of humor. “St. Petersburg: A Cultural Capital, Against All Odds.” Our group disem - The next morning we awakened to find Tallinn, the capital of barked early the next morning for the first of three busy days in Russia’s the Baltic republic of Estonia, beckoning outside our windows. All former capital, led by three charming Russian women fluent in both Eng - guests were shuttled to the city center and enjoyed six sunny hours ex - lish and the vocabulary of art history. Our first destination was a rare pri - ploring its hilly, cobblestoned streets. Once a rich trading post inter - vate visit ( sans touristes ) to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the gigantic gold-domed connected with other Baltic and North Sea ports operated by the Ger - structure that kept the French architect Auguste Montferrand occupied man-led Hanseatic League, Tallinn’s well-restored core features an un - for 40 years (1818-58). Next came the Fortress and Cathedral of Saints expected range of architectural styles, from medieval half-timbering Peter and Paul, on the small island from which Peter the Great’s imperial to Art Nouveau whiplash curves. capital emanated during the first quarter of the 18th century. Taking ad - vantage of the sunny weather, we next enjoyed an open-air boat tour of the city’s canals. Although I had visited St. Petersburg before, I had not seen it from this unique vantage, truly the best way to appreciate the refinement and vari - ety of its facades and towers. We dis - embarked at the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood, the fantasia of col - orful “onion domes” erected on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassi - nated in 1881. After ogling its Russo- Byzantine interior, we relaxed over JOHN AND GAIL O’B RIEN SUSAN AND LINDA PERRY lunch at Lumière, a glass pavilion perched atop a building overlooking Arts Square, which focuses on a mon - BUD LESLIE AND ument to the poet Alexander Pushkin. DAVID ORCUTT Having enjoyed two free hours shopping and sightseeing along bustling Nevsky Prospekt, we re - assembled for tea and cakes at the el - egant Hotel Astoria before strolling to the State Hermitage Museum. One of the largest museums on earth, the Her - mitage is a familiar name to all read - ers of Fine Art Connoisseur , yet few people have experienced its grand gal - leries and halls after public hours. In - THE TOUR ’S MUST -HAVE ACCESSORY deed, our first glimpse of its exterior was marred by the sight of thousands of tourists exiting the building at clos - ing time… ugh! Thus our group truly savored the privilege of entering after 6 p.m., and we particularly enjoyed a rare demonstration of the huge Pea - cock Clock, sent in 1781 by the Lon - don goldsmith James Cox to amuse Catherine the Great. We also relished a detailed introduction to the Her - mitage’s collection of British paint - ings, provided by its curator (and my one-time classmate) Elizaveta Renne, whose comprehensive catalogue of this KAY HOOPER , P EG AREY , holding will be published in English PETER TRIPPI DELIVERS A LECTURE JOYCE VARGA next year.

Copyright 2010 Fine Art Connoisseur . Used by Permission. November/December 2010 | FINE ART CONNOISSEUR.COM EXPLORING ST. P ETERSBURG ’S CANALS DUNCAN AND CAROLYN POND FISHER , B URRITT POND , JUDITH POND KUDLOW , AND CORNELIA POND AT ST. ISAAC ’S CATHEDRAL

THE CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR ON SPILLED BLOOD

PARTICIPANTS IN ARTS SQUARE

ERIC RHOADS AND PETER TRIPPI AT THE CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR ON SPILLED BLOOD

THE ACADEMY, RUSSIAN MUSEUM, AND PALACES After a night’s rest, we departed the next morning for the Academy of Fine Arts (also known as the Repin Institute), which covers a full block of prime real estate overlooking the Neva river. Here we were greeted and oriented by the Acad - emy’s ebullient rector, Semyon Mikhailovsky. Having shown us the proverbial red-colored telephone that once linked his office to the Kremlin, Mikhailovsky guided us through every interior space worth seeing, including a spectacular suite of galleries filled with plaster casts of classical sculpture, as well as the original amphitheatre where students still learn to draw from live models and skeletons. After viewing the impressive exhibi - temporary, and with particular strength in the 19th century. Here we tion of artworks by graduating students, we enjoyed an al fresco lunch enjoyed a tour of paintings by the great academician Ilya Repin (1844- in the Academy’s circular courtyard, then inspected two dozen can - 1930), plus sufficient time to buy hard-to-find catalogues in the mu - vases delivered for our enjoyment by recent graduates and current fac - seum shop. Approximately half the group attended an evening perfor - ulty. This was the first such show-sale in the institution’s history, and mance of the ballet Swan Lake at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, while the many of these works were promptly purchased by our guests, who rest of us relaxed aboard the Crystal Symphony or returned downtown are now admiring them at home in North America. to paint. (Five guests spent this entire day in Moscow, traveling by the The afternoon was spent at the State Russian Museum, which of - new high-speed railway that links it with St. Petersburg and enjoying fers a comprehensive survey of Russian artmaking — from icons to con - tours of such sites as the Kremlin and Red Square.)

LIBBY WHIPPLE , S EMYON MIKHAILOVSKY , K ATIE WHIPPLE

THE ACADEMY 'S GALLERIES OF PLASTER CASTS

LUNCH IN THE ACADEMY ’S COURTYARD

THE ACADEMY ’S EXHIBITION OF WORK BY GRADUATING STUDENTS

The group’s final day in St. Petersburg began with a tour of the jolly sing-along performances of folk music. Completely recharged, Catherine Palace, located in the resort town of Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin), we finished the day at Peterhof, the suburban summer palace initiated 16 miles southeast of the city. This enormous 18th-century Rococo by Peter the Great and expanded by subsequent tsars. Essentially Rus - confection is best known for the decorative panels of its Amber Room, sia’s version of Versailles, this complex is well known for its many foun - the originals of which disappeared during World War II and have been tains, which cascade down a hill toward the Gulf of Finland. It was replaced by hand-crafted replicas that sparkled in the sunlight stream - on the pier here that we boarded the hydrofoil that sped us back to ing through the windows. Dazzled by all the gold leaf surrounding us, St. Petersburg for a final glimpse before we departed Russia. (That we rested our eyes at Podvorie, a charming restaurant constructed of night a cocktail reception in the ship’s nightclub helped lift our newly logs in the vernacular style and famous for its peasant cooking and Russophilic spirits.)

THE PEACOCK CLOCK AT THE HERMITAGE

A H ERMITAGE PICTURE GALLERY

WENDY CHUANG SWEDEN AND BEYOND WITH CARAVAGGIO ’S The next day was our final one together. After my illustrated lec - LUTE PLAYER AT THE ture on “Stockholm: Medieval and Modern,” most of us sat riveted at HERMITAGE the ship’s railings and windows admiring the sunlit scenery of the 24,000-island archipelago that connects the Baltic with Sweden’s cap - ital, which is itself built on a network of islands. Once moored in Stock - holm, we explored this impressive city independently, then convened for a farewell dinner on board. After seven days together, united in awe of so much superb art and architecture, most passengers regretted having to part. Fortu - nately, we are now in regular e-mail contact and sharing photos on Shutterfly.com, so our journey of aesthetic discovery is not actually over. Moreover, the Russian Art Cruise proved such a success that a 2011 edition (in a different region of the world) is now being planned. Please watch this space for details; we certainly hope that you will be able to join us next year. n

PETER TRIPPI is editor of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine.

REPIN ’S ENORMOUS PAINTING , THE A FOUNTAIN AT PETERHOF CEREMONIAL SITTING OF THE STATE COUNCIL , AT THE STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM

STOCKHOLM 'S ROYAL A BALLROOM AT THE CATHERINE PALACE DRAMATIC THEATRE

THERE ’S GOLD LEAF AT EVERY A HYDROFOIL ON THE NEVA RIVER PERFORMERS AT THE PODVORIE RESTAURANT TURN IN ST. P ETERSBURG .

TALLINN ’S MAIN SQUARE

Copyright 2010 Fine Art Connoisseur . Used by Permission. November/December 2010 | FINE ART CONNOISSEUR.COM Reprinted with permission from: destination a r t 800.610.5771 or International 011-561.655.8778. CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE D

The Danube Art Cruise A Voyage to Remember BY PETER TRIPPI

he Danube Art Cruise, Fine Art Connoisseur’s second adventure Tabroad (October 2-9, 2011), delivered exactly what it promised, and then some. Conceived by FAC publisher B. Eric Rhoads, this journey proved an ideal way to mix the world-class art and architecture of five Danube-region nations with five-star comforts and a delightfully cohesive group of 27 passengers who eagerly shared with each other their passion for artistic beauty and quality. On the sunny morning of October 1, this merry band of collectors, artists, and enthusiasts from the U.S., Canada, and Australia gathered for the first time in the elegant lobby of Budapest’s Four Seasons Gresham Palace. Certainly the finest hotel in Budapest, the Gresham is also one of the Hungarian capital’s best located buildings: it faces the picturesque

The Four Seasons Gresham Palace Hotel faces the Chain Bridge in the heart of Budapest.

FINE ART CONNOISSEUR.COM | January/February 2012 Curator Dr. Bellák Gábor (right) chats with Peter Trippi in the Hungarian National Gallery.

who showed us every inch of the spectacular, limited-run exhibition devoted to vast scenes from Christ’s life painted by Hungary’s favorite artist, Mihály Munkácsy (1844-1900). Measuring approximately 14 x 21 feet, each canvas dazzled us with its compositional complexity, rich color, and theatrical impact. Dr. Gábor also introduced us to unfamil- iar narratives in 19th-century Hungarian art, mostly from the country’s medieval history and legends. We concluded our stay in Budapest with a detailed exploration of our magnificent Sezession-era hotel, which has been carefully restored by Canada’s Four Seasons company after decades of neglect during the communist period. Chain Bridge, which links ancient, hilly Buda with flat, modern Pest, We almost could have walked along the Danube to our handsome where the great plain of Hungary begins. From our rooms we could see ship, the amaDante, so close was its mooring to the Gresham Palace. Just the Danube, the fast-flowing superhighway that connects the diverse three years old, this luxurious river vessel was built in the Netherlands places our group had come to explore in Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, for AMA Waterways of Los Angeles, and carries only 148 passengers. Germany, and (tangentially) the Czech Republic. We were hugely impressed with the scale of the staterooms, elegance of For the next day and a half, we saw the best of Budapest with our the décor, and quality of the cuisine, and we especially enjoyed spending astonishingly knowledgeable guide, Márta Tábi. On offer were the gilded opera The floodlit monuments of Budapest, in this case the Royal house, where we sipped champagne as Palace, were admired as we sailed northward. a gifted tenor regaled us with arias; the impressive Heroes’ Square with its neo- classical monument; the bustling central market; the quaint lanes of Buda; and the expansive views from the Fisherman’s Bastion. We paid special attention to the Sezession period of the late 19th and early 20th century, when Budapest was one of the world’s fastest-growing and most cosmopolitan cities. At the Sezes- sion Museum, the former Párizsi department store decorated by Károly Lotz, and the Parliament building, we admired the unique blending of Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts, Viennese Sezession, and folk motifs that characterized this move- time with our British-born, Hungary-based cruise manager, John Riley. ment, and that needs to be better appreciated worldwide. Soon we were sitting for the first of our seven gourmet dinners together; One highlight was the before-public-hours tour of the Hungar- the seating plans changed each evening so that, by the end of the week, ian National Gallery with Dr. Bellák Gábor, the enthusiastic curator all Danube Art Cruise participants had found an opportunity to converse with everyone else. After dinner we climbed to the ship’s flat top deck The group admires Mihály Munkácsy’s enormous paintings at to admire the floodlit monuments of Budapest as we glided northward, the Hungarian National Gallery. toasting the start of our voyage with still more champagne.

SLOVAKIA AND AUSTRIA On our first morning cruising the calm Danube, we gathered in the amaDante’s private lounge for a formal welcome by Eric Rhoads and the first of my three illustrated lectures on-board, “Diverse Expressions of Danube Culture: Bratislava, Vienna, and Dürnstein.” Offering detailed maps and thumbnail portraits of this region’s historical movers and shakers, these one-hour talks were intended to prepare guests for what they would encounter on shore. Also introduced was Gabriel Haigazian of Creative Travel Planners, who coordinated every detail of the voyage — in advance and on site — with both rigor and a contagious sense of humor. That afternoon we arrived in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, where we enjoyed a walking tour of historical sites. Particularly poignant were the architectural reminders of how culturally integrated this and the other cities of Mitteleuropa once were; under the Habsburg dynasty

FINE ART CONNOISSEUR.COM | January/February 2012 Our home away from home, the amaDante

Dr. Elisabeth Leopold welcomes Eric Rhoads (left) and Peter Trippi to Vienna’s Leopold Museum. ruling from Vienna until 1918, the people of Bratislava (then known as Pressburg) all spoke Slovak, German, and Hungarian equally well. It was the horrors of World War II, the Holocaust, and Soviet domination that closed that era, of course, and today the Slovaks, Czechs, and Hungarians are still trying to find the right balance between nationhood and true The impressive rotunda where we lunched at integration with the European Union. Vienna’s Kunsthistoriches Museum The next day was spent in Vienna, the onetime imperial capital and ongoing mecca for lovers of great art, music, and theater. We started the day with an illustrated lecture by the Viennese art adviser Christi- Dusk settles over Schönnbrunn ane Inmann, who discussed Forbidden Fruit, her innovative 2009 book Palace in Vienna. surveying artists’ images of women reading. This topic made particular sense in Vienna, where the Empress Maria Theresa played a major role in 18th-century European culture, and where today several of the city’s major museums are directed by women. After an informative drive through the city center, we arrived at the Leopold Museum in the Hab- sburgs’ former stables complex. This is the world’s most important collection of masterworks by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, and other titans of Vienna’s artistic golden age circa 1890-1920. We were welcomed there by no less than Dr. Elisabeth Leopold, who co-founded the museum with her late husband. On a day when the museum was closed entirely to the public, we enjoyed a private tour of its highlights, seen through the eyes of this passionate and articulate collector. Soon we strolled to the Kunsthistoriches Museum, home to one of the world’s greatest holdings of Old Master paintings by the likes of Bruegel, Dürer, and Rubens, not to mention soaring decorations by our

FINE ART CONNOISSEUR.COM | January/February 2012 Vineyards grace the Wachau Valley, enjoyed A ruined castle overlooks the village of Dürnstein. here by Sasha Sanderson.

Melk Abbey dominates the town around it.

The next morning we awoke in the tiny village of Dürnstein, a world away from Vienna though it is located only 50 miles to the west, in the scenic Wachau valley. Overlooked by the now-ruined castle where the English Crusader King Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned, Dürnstein is famous for its white wines, which our group taste-tested in a sunny garden before exploring its ornate Rococo church and cobbled streets. Back on the ship, I discussed “The Church in Charge: Melk and Salzburg” highlighting the political and cultural power exerted by The ornate Rococo church at Dürnstein the Roman Catholic archbishop-princes in this region. My points were illustrated that afternoon as we explored Melk Abbey, the most opulent of the Baroque monastic institutions. Before docking in Melk, however, Hungarian hero Munkácsy. Here we were welcomed in the members’ we enjoyed an unforgettable afternoon on the amaDante’s roof, winding lounge by curator Agnes Stillfried, who led a tour of highlights before we through the lush Wachau valley while enjoying John Riley’s commentary lunched in the museum’s handsome cafe. Some of us peeled off for a walk- about the sunlit vineyards, cliffs, castles, and villages all around us. ing tour of Vienna’s historic center, while others headed to the Belvedere The next morning saw us disembark in the industrial city of Linz to see still more Klimt and Schiele, plus a retrospective of richly colored for a scenic 90-minute drive toward Salzburg, the greatest of Austria’s paintings by the Austrian Hans Makart (1840-1884). The group reas- archiepiscopal seats. Having stopped in the scenic town of Mondsee to sembled to take an after-hours tour of the enormous Habsburg palace of admire the magnificent church used for the wedding scene inThe Sound Schönnbrunn. This World Heritage Site is usually mobbed with tourists, so of Music, we made our way to the Salzburger Barockmuseum, which it was a special pleasure to arrive as the hordes departed, and to watch dusk faces the colorful Mirabell Gardens on the edge of Salzburg’s historic settle over the famous gardens as our tour ended. Some in our party then quarter. Here we were welcomed by director Dr. Regina Kaltenbrunner, attended an evening concert, while others shopped and dined downtown. who gave us a private tour of this fascinating collection of Baroque oil

FINE ART CONNOISSEUR.COM | January/February 2012 Salzburg’s Mirabell Gardens open onto a view of the In Regensburg, the Thurn und Taxis family’s Hohensalzburg Castle. crest is surmounted by a taxicab.

its massive and slightly sinister-looking locks. Heavily bombed during World War II, the medieval heart of Nuremberg was so expertly rebuilt that we would never have known had our guide not forewarned us. Most in our party chose to visit the ruined parade grounds and stadium used for Hitler’s infamous rallies — a haunt- ing reminder of how crucial Nuremberg’s Germanic charms were to the Nazi agenda, which ultimately led to their destruction. Back on the amaDante, we all dressed smartly for our farewell reception and dinner, where we toasted new and renewed friendships. (Eleven sketches and terracotta sculptures, as well as her tem- of the 27 travelers had participated in Fine Art porary exhibition of Rembrandt etchings borrowed Connoisseur’s 2010 Russian Art Cruise.) from the main art gallery in Graz, Austria. We were After more than a week together, united saddened to learn that the Salzburger Barockmuseum in awe of so much superb art and architec- will close this winter, probably to be replaced by a ture, the passengers regretted having to part. Sound of Music visitors’ center, and so we were extra Fortunately, 12 of us were able to extend our glad to have experienced it now. We moved just next holiday by traveling to the Czech Repub- door for something completely different: the cutting- lic with our well informed, Prague-based edge commercial gallery operated by Thaddaeus guide Karel Pittl. Our motor coach brought Ropac, an Austrian who also runs a space in Paris. us to the capital via the elegant spa town of Here director Dr. Arne Ehmann showed us highlights Karlovy Vary (formerly Carlsbad), where from the gallery’s impressive inventory, most memo- we spent a sunny afternoon sipping the sul- rably large, richly textured paintings by the German phuric waters and walking its historic streets. master Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945). After refreshing our- Having checked into Prague’s Hotel Grand selves with wine and water provided by the gallery, Majestic Plaza, our group savored a hearty we explored Salzburg independently in the sunshine Czech meal nearby in the brightly tiled cellar before returning to the amaDante, which by this time of the Municipal House (1912), home to sev- was docked at Passau, just across the German border. Mrs. Geraldine Mucha welcomes Susan eral performance and entertainment spaces Levitsky to her home in Prague. lavishly decorated in the Art Nouveau style. GERMANY AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC As we sailed northward the next morning, I lec- THE LEGACY OF ALFONS MUCHA tured on “The Best of Bavaria: Regensburg and Nuremberg.” The fact The next day began with a walking tour of Prague’s quaint historic that we were sailing at all was noteworthy: the Danube is not deep in quarter, then a visit to the Mucha Museum, which celebrates the long the best of weather, and the recent lack of rain meant that our brave career of Alfons Mucha (1860-1939). Though he won international fame captain was uncertain the amaDante, shallow though it is, could pass in Paris by making Art Nouveau posters featuring Sarah Bernhardt and safely through such low water. The arrival of rain — normally an annoy- other icons of glamour, Mucha never forgot his roots and ultimately reset- ance to tourists like us — lifted everyone’s spirits, and so the ship carried tled in what was then Czechoslovakia. We were honored to be invited by on, occasionally scraping the riverbed below. We arrived in unspoiled Geraldine Mucha, the master’s Scottish-born daughter-in-law and herself Regensburg in a driving rainstorm, but doggedly followed our guide a composer, into the evocative home of her family, where we saw painted because the city’s architecture and history are so surprisingly cosmopoli- treasures never shown to the public. While there we discussed the impor- tan. Many of us were intrigued not only by the French-Gothic cathedral tant work of the Mucha Foundation (muchafoundation.org), headed by and Italianate townhouses here, but also by the influence exerted (even Mrs. Mucha’s son John. We were particularly delighted to learn that, begin- today) by the Thurn und Taxis family, who created the modern postal ning next July, the foundation will present a major exhibition of Mucha’s system with their fleet of carriages crisscrossing Europe, and whose art at the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rap- name lives on internationally in the word “taxi.” ids, Iowa. (Watch for the article in the July/August 2012 issue of Fine Art Our last full day together as a group occurred in Nuremberg, which is Connoisseur.) Later in the day we admired the brilliant stained glass win- reached not by the Danube but by the modern Main-Danube canal, with dow of Sts. Cyril and Methodius designed by Mucha for the Cathedral of

FINE ART CONNOISSEUR.COM | January/February 2012 The entire group with Dr. Elisabeth Leopold at the Leopold Museum in Vienna; lecturer Christiane Inmann is in pink in the left foreground.

David Orcutt feasts on a Wienerschnitzel Shirley and Peter Richardson with Charlie Charla and Bob Nelson at Vienna’s Figlmüller restaurant. and Barbara Robinson on the amaDante

Peggy Cleary and Peggy Everett dine in Prague. DeeAn Gillespie Strub and Peter Strub on the amaDante

FINE ART CONNOISSEUR.COM | January/February 2012 can convey the astounding quality of Mucha’s brushwork and compositional sophistication. Mucha bequeathed these to the city of Prague, subject to one condition: that they be exhibited publicly in their own building there. However, owing to war, communism, budgetary con- straints, and other concerns, these pictures have spent most of the 20th century on view in the chateau at Moravsky Krumlov, far from Prague. As we arrived, we knew that the 20 pictures had been much in the news lately. Five of them Mayor Tomáš Třetina (wearing a bright red tie) welcomes had already been taken to Prague, exhibited brie- the group to his town of Moravsky Krumlov. fly, and then put in storage somewhere. Now, the very month of our visit, Mayor Třetina and his

Mucha’s Slav Epic canvases are truly massive.

St. Vitus inside the enormous Prague Castle, which many of us continued townspeople were fighting to keep the remaining 15 pictures in Morav- to explore for hours. sky Krumlov. Naturally we were sorry to learn that, only a few weeks after Our final day together was a memorable one, as we took a private our visit, those 15 paintings were seized by the national government and motor coach two hours into the southern part of Moravia. Having admired brought to Prague. Informed sources now report that the Slav Epic is hea- the rolling farmland and typical villages en route, we arrived at the town ded to the Veletrzni Palac, a branch of the National Gallery well known of Moravsky Krumlov, and specifically at a palace there once owned by the to Czechs, though not visited by most tourists because it is located away aristocratic Liechtenstein family. Here we were greeted by the mayor of from the center of Prague. The Mucha Foundation is concerned that the Moravsky Krumlov, the Honorable Tomáš Třetina, then given a fascina- series will be damaged at the Veletrzni Palac, which does not have ideal ting private tour by Pavlína Hemerková. The focus of our visit was the Slav conditions for its display. The battle goes on, but one thing is certain: the Epic, the unforgettable cycle of huge paintings made by Mucha to depict Danube Art Cruisers who visited these masterworks at Moravsky Krumlov key episodes in the history of the Slavic peoples. The photographs in this were fortunate to do so, especially in light of the delicious luncheon that article suggest the massive size of these canvases, yet only a personal visit Mayor Třetina offered us after our tour. We returned to Prague high on art and Czech hospitality, and concluded our adventure with one final meal at Sunrise over the Danube, captured by traveler the Municipal House, this time in a grand dining room overlooking one of Robert Wrathall the capital’s most important squares. Since October, the Danube cruisers have remained in regular e-mail contact and are sharing photos, so our journey of aesthetic discovery is not actually over. Moreover, this cruise proved such a success that a 2012 edition (in and around Italy) has now been planned for October. Please see page 32 for details. We certainly hope that you will be able to join us next fall. n

PETER TRIPPI is editor of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine.

Information: For details, contact Gabriel Haigazian, Creative Travel Planners, 5855 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Suite 220, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, 818.444.2700, ext. 123, [email protected].

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The Italian Art Cruise A Voyage to Remember BY PETER TRIPPI

he Italian Art Cruise, Fine Art Connoisseur’s Tthird adventure abroad (October 17-24, Eric Rhoads paints on the Accademia Bridge 2012), delivered exactly what it promised, and then that spans Venice’s Grand Canal. some. Conceived by FAC publisher Eric Rhoads, this journey proved an ideal way to mix world-class art and architecture with five-star comforts and a delightfully cohesive group of 27 passengers who eagerly shared with each other their passion for artistic beauty and quality. On the sunny morning of October 16, this merry band of collectors, artists, dealers, and enthusiasts from the U.S. and Switzerland gathered for the first time in the sleek lobby of Venice’s Hilton Molino Stucky. For- merly a flour mill, this castle-like brick hotel stands on the Giudecca Canal overlooking the heart of Venice, to which it is linked by a speedy private water taxi. The group was met at the famous Gallerie dell’Accademia by the art historian Laura Sabbadin, who showed us how this museum’s superb collection traces her native city’s rich visual heritage. We moved on to explore the lavishly decorated Doge’s Palace, then crossed the Piazza San Marco to see the Museo Correr’s once-in-a-lifetime retro- Laura Sabbadin orients the group with a map of spective of the 18th-century painter of Venetian views Francesco Guardi. Venice that she holds with Gabriel Haigazian. Fast-forwarding two centuries, we crossed the lagoon to the island of San Giorgio, where the collectors David Landau and Marie-Rose Kahane welcomed us to the sparely elegant museum they had recently opened, Le Stanze del Vetro (Rooms for Glass). Here Dr. Landau walked us through this venue’s fascinating inaugural show, dedicated to the designs created by Carlo Scarpa for the local Venini firm of glassmakers between 1932 and 1947. Venice’s long association with virtuosity in glass emerged again that night, when our group entered the medieval Basilica of San Marco — reserved entirely for us — to gasp as all of its electric lights were switched off, then brought back up slowly to reveal the glittering surfaces of its famous golden mosaics. Drunk with beauty, we fell into bed, only to awaken ready for more. Right next door to the Hilton Molino Stucky stands the brick factory of Fortuny, admired around the world for the quality of its printed cottons. Although strangers are never admitted to the workshops (for fear of the firm’s secrets being copied), our hosts Giuseppe Iannò and Marjolaine Piccio explained (almost) everything and allowed us to handle dozens of fabrics in Fortuny’s showroom, which overlooks a peaceful garden complete with swimming pool. Next up was a visit to the Renaissance-era church of San Sebastiano with Melissa Conn, who heads the Venice office of Save Venice, a nonprofit organization of art lovers around the world

FineArtConnoisseur.com | March/April 2013 The Regent Seven Seas Voyager anchored near Sorrento, with the volcano Mount Vesu- vius in the distance dedicated to restoring the city’s monuments. Here we admired the richly colored decorations painted throughout the sanctuary by Paolo Veronese and others in the 16th century. The conservators hired by Save Venice are doing a marvelous job bringing these dirty and damaged scenes back to life, though more funds must be raised if the project is to be finished properly. (Details are at savevenice.org/ restorations/in-progress.)

ALL ABOARD Within a few hours, we were all ensconced in our spacious staterooms on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager, a 700-passenger ship renowned for its tasteful décor and superb cuisine. Venice is a city best experienced from the water, and thus our ship’s grand departure at dusk along the Giudecca Canal and across the lagoon provided unforgettable views of the “Queen of the Adriatic” before we Dr. David Landau welcomes the group to actually entered that sea. After a festive welcome Le Stanze del Vetro. reception featuring prosecco fermented in the nearby Veneto region, we sat for the first of our seven gourmet dinners together. Fortunately, the seating plans changed each evening so that, by the end of the week, all Italian The staircase hall of Empress Sisi’s Achilleion Art Cruise participants had found an opportunity to converse Palace on Corfu with everyone else. On our first morning of cruising, we gathered in the Voy- ager’s private lounge for a formal welcome by Eric Rhoads and the first of my three illustrated lectures on board. Offering detailed maps and thumbnail portraits of this region’s historical movers and shakers, these one-hour talks were intended to prepare guests for what they would encounter on shore. Also introduced was Gabriel Haigazian of Creative Travel Planners, who coordinated every detail of the voyage — in advance and on site — with both rigor and a contagious sense of humor. The first two days of cruising reminded our group that Venice did indeed, for many centuries, control the economic and political lives of virtually everyone who lived on both shores of the Adriatic Sea. This fact was underscored by our long, sunny afternoon in the picturesque Croatian port of Dubrovnik, and by the next day on the olive-laden Greek island of Corfu. Evidence of the Venetian occupation can be seen eve- rywhere in these enchanted places, but surely no site is more

FineArtConnoisseur.com | March/April 2013 An artisan working at Franco Cervietti & Co. in Pietrasanta

A sculpture-lined breezeway at Capri’s Villa San Michele

The group poses amid the marble dust at Franco Cervietti’s carving studio in Pietrasanta.

The region of Tuscany is justly revered for its historic cities and artistic heritage, both of which were enjoyed in abundance the next day. Having docked at the port of Livorno, our group headed first to the town of Pietrasanta, home to many studios where marble from the nearby quarries of Carrara is carved to artists’ specifications by skilled artisans. Await- ing us at one of these firms were Franco and Hisayo Cervietti, who cheerfully showed us how this (dusty and noisy) process unfolds. After exploring the historic center of Pietrasanta on foot, we moved on to enchanting than Corfu’s Achilleion Palace, a hilltop mansion built in the the unspoiled walled city of Lucca, where our guide brought us inside its late 19th century as a getaway for the beautiful but depressive Austro- unique churches and even the home of the great opera composer Giac- Hungarian empress Elisabeth (“Sisi”). Our group particularly enjoyed omo Puccini. Back on the Voyager, we dressed smartly for our farewell this palace’s neo-Pompeian décor and verdant gardens reception and dinner, where we toasted new and renewed friendships. The following day brought our ship to the Sicilian harbor of (A remarkable 18 of our 27 travelers had participated in previous Fine Taormina. To our left the clouds occasionally parted to reveal the huge, Art Connoisseur cruises.) After more than a week together, united in awe steaming peak of Mount Etna, Europe’s largest volcano. Off to the right of so much superb art and architecture, the passengers regretted having was the hilltop city of Taormina, best known for the remarkably well to part. Fortunately, 16 of us were able to extend our holiday by visiting preserved Roman amphitheater that overlooks the sea. Our busy day of Rome and Florence together. lunching, shopping, and church-exploring concluded with prosecco and ocean views from the terrace of the luxurious Ashbee Hotel, originally BACK ON TERRA FIRMA designed early in the 20th century by the English Arts & Crafts genius Having disembarked the Voyager at Rome’s port of Civitavecchia, C.R. Ashbee for an expatriate client. our group explored the historic quarter of the Eternal City, particularly Similar juxtapositions of stunning natural scenery and quaint his- enjoying opportunities to see the Pantheon, and major paintings by Car- torical architecture dominated the next two days. Moored in the Bay of avaggio hanging in three churches. Though it is comparatively small, the Naples facing Sorrento, the Voyager dispatched us to shore in tenders that Galleria Borghese contains one of the finest collections of art and antiq- allowed us to admire the region’s blue-green water and steep cliffs. These uities anywhere, and some members of the group were equally charmed were particularly abundant on the island of Capri, where we explored while strolling through the surrounding park. Our busy day concluded the serene Villa San Michele, once occupied by the Swedish writer Axel with a visit to the studio of the Australian-born painter-teacher Andrea Munthe, and also took chair lifts to the top of Monte Solaro. The next J. Smith, and then a lecture on Italian contemporary art by Claudia day featured a hair-raising bus ride up the twisting roads that lead from Palmira Acunto, editor of Italian Journal. the port of Amalfi to the hilltop town of Ravello, famous for its music The next day was unusually action-packed, featuring a customized festival at the ruined Villa Rufolo. Many of us were impressed with the walk through the Vatican Museums focused on their antique sculptures size and eclectic decoration of Amalfi’s cathedral. and cartographic murals, and of course the Sistine Chapel and Basilica

FineArtConnoisseur.com | March/April 2013 Greg Meador, Laurie Rhoads, and Libby Whipple experience the Sistine Chapel.

Robert Wrathall and Claudia Clayton in front of Rome’s Pantheon

Dan and Libby Whipple enjoy the new Italo high-speed train.

Learning the secrets of Florentine papermaking at Giulio Giannini & Figlio of St. Peter. We leapt forward many centuries upon arriving at Rome’s brand-new Tiburtina station, where a sleek Italo high-speed train whisked us in first-class comfort to Florence. There we were welcomed by the local art historian Elaine Ruffolo, who led us behind the scenes of two easily overlooked, and completely fascinating, artisanal workshops in the Oltrarno quarter. First up was a demonstration of traditional papermaking techniques at Giulio Giannini & Figlio, followed by a look inside the metalworking firm of Carlo Cecchi. This busy day closed with a short drive outside the city to the Villa Il Palmerino. Here Dr. Monica Shenouda presented an illustrated lecture on a former Villa resident, the English expatriate writer Vernon Lee, followed by an account of the property’s subsequent history by one of its current occupants, Giuliano Angeli. Our group then enjoyed an authentic Tuscan feast laid on by the generous family of our hostess, Federica Paretti, and by the organic winemaker Guido Gualandi. On our final day together, October 26, winter suddenly reached Italy. Until then, the weather had been sunny and mild, with blue skies and gen- Federica Paretti explains the history of her tle breezes. In Florence, however, we bundled up against the drizzle, confi- family’s home, Villa Il Palmerino.

FineArtConnoisseur.com | March/April 2013 Peter Vig and Kathy Jackson

A ladies-only moment during the farewell reception aboard the Voyager

Barbara Paul Robinson, Peggy Cleary, and Roger Rossi at supper

Charlie Robinson celebrates his birthday aboard the Voyager.

Peter Trippi and David Orcutt in Amalfi

Heidi and Arthur Woods dining with Charla and Robert Nelson

FineArtConnoisseur.com | March/April 2013 and his colleagues Nelson White, Ramiro (see page 59), Jor- dan Sokol, and Daniela Astone, who showed us how and where their students develop such outstanding technical skills. Now the rain was really pouring, so we hustled into the large, luminous apartment of the American expatriate Director James M. Bradburne welcomes the Cindy Harding Nannarelli, whose book Tuscan Life: Food group to Florence’s Palazzo Strozzi. Tales & Recipes inspired the farewell feast of antipasti and prosecco she prepared for our lively group. Since that friendly sendoff, the Italian cruisers have dent that our final destinations were primarily indoors. First came a visit remained in regular e-mail contact and are sharing photos, so our jour- to the Palazzo Strozzi, where director James M. Bradburne explained ney of aesthetic discovery is not actually over. Moreover, this cruise how he and his team have transformed this once-sleepy Renaissance proved such a success that a 2013 edition has now been planned on monument into a thriving museum and arts education center. We pro- France’s Seine River for October 4-11. Please see page 129 for details on ceeded to the famous Galleria degli Uffizi, where Elaine Ruffolo guided this adventure, which will actually begin on the morning of October 2 us through the astonishing permanent collection and then into the rarely with an intensive two-day “pre-tour” in Paris. We certainly hope that you visited Vasari Corridor, designed during the Renaissance as a private pas- will be able to join us next fall. n sage for the Medici family. Here hang hundreds of self-portraits sent by artists over the past 500 years at the invitation of the gallery’s adminis- PETER TRIPPI is editor of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. trators. Among them is the stunning self-portrait of Anders Zorn on the cover of this magazine. Information: For details, contact Gabriel Haigazian, Creative Travel Planners, 5855 Shifting from past to present, our group moved on to the Flor- Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Suite 220, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, 818.444.2700, ext. ence Academy of Art, a large atelier of classical realism founded by the 123, [email protected]. American artist Daniel Graves in 1991. Here we were oriented by Graves

Halfway along the Vasari Corridor that leads from the Galleria degli Uffizi to the Palazzo Pitti

FineArtConnoisseur.com | March/April 2013 destinationD a r t

The French Art Cruise: A Sojourn on the Seine By Peter Trippi

ine Art Connoisseur’s fourth adventure abroad, the French Art FCruise, delivered exactly what it promised, and then some. Conceived by FAC publisher Eric Rhoads, this journey (October 4-11, 2013) proved an ideal way to mix world-class art and architecture with five-star comforts and a delightfully cohesive group of 36 passengers who eagerly shared with each other their passion for artistic beauty and quality. The cruise was preceded by an optional three-day “pre-trip” in Paris, based at the Hotel Le Six in the chic 6th arrondissement. On the evening of October 1, the group strolled a few streets away toward the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, a historic art teaching atelier. There, Fine Art Connoisseur’s editor for California, Vanessa Rothe, arranged our welcome by director Patrick Charpentier, professor Laurent Cattanéo, and coordinator Emmanuel Frochot. The highlight of the evening, however, was a talk on the role of color in French art history given by Dominique Sennelier, the charismatic leader of the eponymous art supplies company his family established in 1887. Afterward, we dined a block away at the lively bras- serie La Rotonde, then strolled home to rest up for the adventures ahead. The next morning, our group was welcomed by the American-born, Paris-based guide Margaret Keith, who brought us to Sainte-Chapelle, the soaring chapel endowed with luminous stained glass by its medieval builder, King Louis IX. After lunch, we Conversations underway at the Académie passed through the always-closed gates of the Ecole de la Grande Chaumière Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, France’s most famous art school, where research curator free time exploring the Louvre, the group boarded Emmanuel Schwartz showed us highlights of his a classic bateau mouche that provided dinner and celebrated campus, including the grand Hémicycle wine while we cruised the river admiring the illumi- d’honneur adorned with a huge mural by Paul Dela- nated facades of central Paris. roche. (Dr. Schwartz will be in the U.S. often this The following morning kicked off with an year, promoting the touring exhibition he has drawn insightful briefing by the arts journalist Didier Ryk- from the school’s rich collections, Gods and Heroes. ner (who founded the Tribune of Art) on what’s Expect an article about it in a future issue of Fine really happening in the world of French museums Art Connoisseur.) Next, we walked across the River and galleries. We then strolled to the atmospheric Seine toward the Musée du Louvre, where chief studio home of the gifted painter Anthony Palis- curator Anne Dion showed us the grand Apparte- ser, who described his methods and what it’s like to ments de Napoleon III and administrators Sabine work in Paris these days. After lunch, we admired de la Rochefoucauld and Sarah Galer updated us the luxurious riverside mansion occupied by on the museum’s exciting plans. After two hours of Galerie J. Kugel, where staff member Benoît Con- stensoux provided an overview of the exquisite his- Barbara Scaetta leading our group through Rouen toric fine and decorative artworks it sells. Soon we

FineArtConnoisseur.com | March/April 2014 105 art, Galerie L’Oeil du Prince. Here the proprietors, Yann and Laetitia Deshoulières, introduced us to several of the artists they represent: Shane Wolf, Béatrice Bissara, Nicolas Martin, and Jaime Zapata. Many purchases were made on the spot, and most of them were carried by our guests directly onto AMALegro, the luxurious ship that awaited us on Paris’s western edge. The voyage itself began after our first delicious supper on board; mindful of our desire to take great sou- venir photos, the captain sailed close to the sparkling (and occasionally blinking) Eiffel Tower before heading westward into Normandy. The AMALegro itself carries 150 passengers in total, and although the others seemed perfectly nice, our group of 36 guests ate in our own section of the main dining room and always departed the ship separately for our own Eric Rhoads (left) greets Dominique customized excursions on land. Sennelier. Eric Rhoads painting in Honfleur Rolling on the River For the next seven days, our jolly group discovered how verdant and sinuous the mighty River Seine really is. Though patches of heavy industry and canal-style locks punctuate its course, our overall impression of Seine-side life was of genteel comfort — timber-framed houses with spacious balconies overlook the slow-moving river, fertile meadows teem with abundant crops and contented-looking livestock, occasional outcroppings of white limestone are crowned by chateaus, abbeys, or ruins, and small, gray-stoned villages center on their well-tended medieval church towers. During our one-week cruise, I delivered three illustrated lectures for our group only, summarizing the history of this fascinating region and setting its artworks and architecture into cultural and geopolitical contexts. The Normans are famously friendly, and none more so than our delightful Rome-born, Rouen-based guide, Bar- bara Scaetta, who welcomed us at our first port, Vernon. Within 15 minutes, she brought us to the colorful house of Claude Monet at Giverny, where his famous gardens still Wendy Chuang and Christiane Hwang Bob and Charla Nelson looked remarkably colorful considering we were well into autumn. We also enjoyed a visit to the adjacent Musée des moved a few streets away to the gallery of Vincent Lécuyer, who handles Impressionismes, with its intriguing show of the Japanese painter Hira- outstanding 19th- and 20th-century European artworks and offered fas- matsu (b. 1941), whose handsome screens draw inspiration from Monet. cinating insights on how he had tracked down some of these treasures. A special bonus was a pre-arranged visit to Giverny’s Baudy inn, where We concluded the day at the Musée d’Orsay, surely the greatest museum Monet’s artistic followers once lived and ate, and to the newly renovated of 19th-century art in the world. After a close look at the newly rein- inn Les Jardin des Plumes. stalled Impressionist galleries and a special exhibition focused on male The next day, having docked in the town of Caudebec-en-Caux, nudes in 19th-century art, our group dined beneath the brilliantly gilded our group headed to the pretty port city of Honfleur, from which the ceiling of the museum’s elegant restaurant. 17th-century explorer Samuel de Champlain set sail on his way to what Our final day in Paris began with an exclusive look at Lumiere would become French Canada. There we visited the Musée Eugene Bou- Technology, where the company’s co-founders, Jean Penicaut and Pas- din, named after the great 19th-century painter of Norman beach scenes, cal Cotte, demonstrated how their super-camera photographs renowned then explored the remarkably well preserved historic quarter, with its works of art in mega-pixelated detail. The group moved on to the Musée extraordinary wooden churches. Jacquemart-André, a jewelbox of a mansion presenting not only its October 7 was our longest day, but perhaps also our most exhilarat- superb permanent collection of fine and decorative arts, but also a tem- ing. The Norman coast has witnessed more than its share of warfare, so porary exhibition of 19th-century British paintings loaned by Mexico we started tracing this troubled history at Bayeux’s Musée de la Tapisserie, City’s Juan Antonio Pérez Simón. We concluded our Paris experience where the 230-foot long Bayeux Tapestry (actually a cloth embroidered on a high while visiting an outstanding venue for contemporary realist in the late 11th century) illustrates the successful invasion of England

106 FineArtConnoisseur.com | March/April 2014 Gale and Greg Meador with Gabriel Claudia Clayton with the ubiquitous Haigazian (center) Janet Smith offers a sweet Norman treat. baguette

Normandy’s bustling capital is Rouen, with its charming historic quarter centered on the enormous Gothic cathedral that Monet painted so zealously from a second- floor window across the street. Guide Barbara Scaetta showed us her adopted city with evident pride, then set us free to explore its sophisticated shops and cafes. The next day brought us to the interconnected towns of Les Andelys (Petit and Grand), both of which have good views of the ruined hilltop castle Chateau Gaillard, constructed by Richard the Lionheart in the 1190s. After examining it, we headed to the small but charming museum dedicated to the great 17th-century classical painter Nicolas Poussin, who grew up here before making his name in Rome. That night we sailed toward Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, our last port before returning to Paris. This was our hopping-off point for an exciting day in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise, where a descendant of the renowned 19th-century landscape painter Charles-François Daubigny welcomed us to the unspoiled studio house where the artist lived and worked. Dan Whipple, Peter Trippi, Mark Jung, David Orcutt, We moved on to the Auberge Ravoux, the former board- Libby Whipple, Cecile Pernica, Michelle Jung ing house where Vincent van Gogh died, and finally to the windswept cemetery where he and his beloved brother, by the Norman duke William the Conqueror in 1066. Having already Theo, are buried side by side. enjoyed (the day before) a fascinating lecture by our fellow travelers Bob Our final morning together, back at AMALegro’s Paris pier, was bit- and Charla Nelson about D-Day and the recovery of Nazi-looted art, we tersweet. After sharing so much fun together, it was sad to bid farewell next headed to the tiny town of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. This is best known to to friends old and new, and also to the ship’s enthusiastic staff, especially North Americans, through the 1962 Hollywood movie The Longest Day, cruise director Sebastien Leroy, who grew up in Rouen. Going our sepa- as the place where the unlucky paratrooper John Steele got his parachute rate ways, we all agreed to try and gather again in the autumn of 2014, tangled on the church steeple and lost his hearing due to the tolling of its and we hope that you will consider joining us then, too. For details on bell. After a visit to this town’s impressive Airborne Museum, we walked in that Iberian Art Cruise, please see pages 42 and 43. brilliant sunshine along both Utah and Omaha beaches, and atop Pointe du Hoc, the rugged headland that cost so many American soldiers’ lives in Information: For details on the Iberian Art Cruise, contact Gabriel Haigazian, Crea- claiming it from the Nazis. Alas, the two-week-long shutdown of the U.S. tive Travel Planners, 5855 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Suite 220, Woodland Hills, CA federal government prevented us from honoring those men in their cem- 91367, 818.444.2700, ext. 123, [email protected]. etery at Colleville-sur-Mer, so we instead visited the atmospheric German cemetery at La Cambre. Peter Trippi is editor-in-chief of Fine Art Connoisseur.

FineArtConnoisseur.com | March/April 2014 107 Reprinted with permission from: destination a r t 800.610.5771 or International 011-561.655.8778. D Click to subscribe

The Art Cruise Inspires, Again By Peter Trippi

ine Art Connoisseur’s fifth annual adven- Fture abroad, the Iberian Art Cruise, delivered exactly what it promised, and then some. Conceived by FAC publisher Eric Rhoads, this voyage last September proved an ideal way to mix world-class art and architecture with five- star comforts and a delightfully cohesive group of 46 passengers who shared with each other their passion for beauty and quality. The complex and fascinating history of Spain and Portugal is not familiar to many North Americans, so this trip Silversea Cruises’ Silver Cloud brought that heritage alive through artworks and buildings of almost every era. On Friday the 12th of September, everyone Our participants arrived one by one and gathered in the Ritz’s lobby — a rare surviving couple by couple at the elegant Four Seasons masterpiece of 1950s Portuguese modernism — Hotel Ritz, which stands on a hill overlooking and boarded a private motorcoach that brought us Lisbon. Though no organized tours were offered, to Silversea Cruises’ exquisite ship the Silver Cloud. little parties of Fine Art Connoisseur guests headed This vessel holds only 296 passengers, which made out each day to explore the remarkable capital of boarding and disembarking remarkably quick each Portugal. Among the many sites they visited were day. Though the ship’s other passengers seemed the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, National perfectly nice, our group ate supper nightly in our Museum of Historical Art, National Museum of own section of the main dining room, and only Tiles, National Coach Museum, Berardo Collec- they were allowed to attend my three illustrated tion of Modern and Contemporary Art, Jeroni- lectures that summarized the region’s history and mos Monastery, and Belém Tower. set its artworks and architecture into geopolitical contexts. As in previous years, our cheerful tour coordinator, Gabriel Haigazian of Creative Travel Planners, ensured that every logistical detail was addressed.

Baroness Carmen Thyssen (center) with artistic director Lourdes Moreno The group prepares to visit Antoni Gaudí’s La Sagrada Familia. and Peter Trippi at the Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga

FineArtConnoisseur.com | January/February 2015 José Manuel Infiesta discusses a sculpture at his European Museum of Modern Art.

Enjoying box seats at the Palace of Catalan Music

The group disembarks their first-class car at Madrid’s Atocha Station. Savoring tapas at Madrid’s Los Gatos Cerveceria

Skirting the Iberian Coast The voyage began with a welcome cocktail reception on a deck as the Silver Cloud sailed out of Lisbon’s magnificent harbor at sunset. We awoke the next morning in Portimão, on the southern coast of Portugal. The town is unremarkable, yet we could immediately see why it draws visitors: it is surrounded by a spectacularly scenic coastline ideal for sailing and sunbathing. Indeed, most of our guests enjoyed half-day land excursions to attractive headlands and towns nearby, including Sagres and Lagos. Overnight we sailed onward to Spain’s historic naval port of Cádiz, a small but handsome city of mostly 18th-century buildings and innu- merable churches. We visited on a Sunday, so we were able to watch the locals promenading after church with their children and pets, then lunching in the city’s many squares. Our visits included the small but exquisite Oratorio (chapel) of Santa Cueva, with its colorful lunettes painted by Francisco de Goya (1746-1828); the Museo de Cádiz, with its paintings of saints by Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664); and the stunning cathedral, with its airy interior dome that seems to glow with celestial light. The Silver Cloud brought us next to Málaga, the large city on the Roger Rossi (center) with Charlie and Barbara Robinson proudly sporting the Costa del Sol closely associated with beach tourism, yet now rediscover- commemorative T-shirts they received in celebration of their five consecutive ing its own cultural heritage through a growing number of museums. years cruising with Fine Art Connoisseur.

FineArtConnoisseur.com | January/February 2015 Juan Andres Maya dancing at El Corral de La Morería Prado curator Javier Barón Thaidigsmann (center) with Peter Trippi and Eric Rhoads

Dick and Anne Keigher

Bob Wrathall and Claudia Clayton

The Mapfre Foundation’s Pablo Jiménez Burillo and Nadia Arroyo Arce welcome We were greeted by the art historian Javier Cuevas, who brought us first the group to the Sorolla & America exhibition. to the ruined Gibralfaro castle, from which we could gaze over a long sweep of coast. Like almost every hilltop site in this region, this had once been a Moorish fortress, which made more sense when we suddenly real- ized that we could see North Africa on the horizon. Málaga is proud to be the birthplace of Pablo Picasso (1881- 1973), so naturally we went next to the house where he was born, now a museum that shows how his middle-class family lived. (His father was an academic artist and teacher, a fact that became highly relevant when we reached Barcelona.) We then walked further into the historic quarter, where — since 2011 — the Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga has presented its founder’s collection of 19th-century Spanish paintings, as well as temporary exhibitions in that field. (On view was a show about the painter Dario de Regoyos, who lived from 1857 to 1913.) There we were thrilled to be welcomed by Carmen “Tita” Thyssen herself, who was accompanied by the museum’s artistic director, Lourdes Moreno, and also by its managing director, Javier Ferrer. Because the museum was closed to the public the day we visited, we were able to relax in its bright foyer to hear the Baroness (widow of the famous collector Baron Hans Heinrich von Thyssen Bornemisza) discuss her own inter- Libby Whipple studies ests in art. She also introduced us to her friend and portraitist Mercedes a Sorolla portrait at the Lasarte, as well as that lady’s dealer, Mercedes Duerinckx, from Art Wan- Mapfre Foundation. son Gallery in nearby Marbella. All of us were enchanted by the Baroness,

FineArtConnoisseur.com | January/February 2015 David Orcutt, Sorolla Museum director Consuelo Luca Mitch and de Tena; Mariano Benlliure’s sculpture of Shelly Neto, Sorolla appears behind her. and Janet Smith

Eric Rhoads and Gabriel Haigazian enjoy some paella.

tour, we headed to the medieval quarter and its superbly preserved Lonja de la Seda, a grand hall where raw silk was traded during the prosper- ous 16th century. Across the street is the bustling Central Market, where mouth-watering displays of this region’s famous produce include abundant jamón ibérico (cured ham) and manchego cheese, which we tasted and washed down with local wine. Because València has long been a even before we learned that she was gracing the cover of a popular Spanish ceramics-making center, we went on to the National Museum of Ceram- magazine that very week. ics, housed in a mansion adorned in brilliant, patterned tiles. Next up Before leaving Málaga, we enjoyed a sneak peek inside a superbly was the Casa-Museo Benlliure, the seemingly unspoiled studio-house renovated house that now serves as the Museum of Glass and Crystal. of the painter José Benlliure (1858-1937), who came from a dynasty of Founded in 2009 by Gonzalo Fernández-Prieto and Ian Phillips, this is a distinguished artists and arts administrators. Our last stop — well worth repository not just of glass and crystal, but also of paintings, sculptures, the wait — was the Museum of Fine Arts, which holds several galleries furniture, ceramics, and clocks from around the world. We were shown of paintings by the great Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923), who came from around by the founders themselves, and were particularly interested to València but ultimately settled in Madrid. learn how the house’s original architects kept it cool even in the hottest weather by opening most rooms onto the verdant central patio. Barcelona The next morning found our ship docked in Cartagena, a city The next morning found our ship in Barcelona, the capital of Cata- founded by the Carthaginians (thus its name) but swiftly conquered by lonia and an exciting place to be that weekend because the Scots were the Romans, who left a remarkably intact amphitheater and other ruins. voting on whether to secede from the United Kingdom. (The Catalans This was a day at leisure for us to explore a “real” Spanish city on our have long sought to secede from Spain.) Welcoming us at the pier were own, especially because the pier was in easy walking distance of the main the guides Silvia Riera and Tate Cabré, who brought us to one of the shopping street. world’s most famous places of worship, the Basilica of the Holy Fam- Such leisure was not possible the next day in València, Spain’s third- ily designed by Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926). Under construction since largest city, and one packed with sites not to miss. After a panoramic bus 1882, “La Sagrada Familia” is now complete enough inside to convey

FineArtConnoisseur.com | January/February 2015 Laurie Rhoads, DeeAn Gillespie, and Peter Strub James and Mimi Fountain with Peter Vig

Rick and Pandora Dickinson, Dan and Libby Whipple, Charla and Bob Nelson, and Roger Rossi the architect’s vision of heaven on earth. Next we explored two build- The next day was spent in Barcelona’s well preserved Gothic Quarter, ings designed by Gaudí in his uniquely fluid manner, Casa Batlló and which is now home to the European Museum of Modern Art. Founded La Pedrera, as well as the recently renovated Casa Lleo i Morera created and directed by the architect-collector José Manuel Infiesta, this is one of by his rival, Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Back on the Sea Cloud for our the few institutions anywhere that focuses on both contemporary realist final evening aboard ship, we enjoyed a farewell cocktail reception and art and figurative artworks from the late 19th through mid-20th centuries. festive dinner. Our group was delighted to hear Mr. Infiesta’s commentary on his current Having transferred to a hotel in the heart of Barcelona, we now had sculpture show, and to enjoy a glass of Catalan cava (white sparkling wine) two more full days to experience this great city. Starting with a vista from in one of the museum’s historic spaces. Our final stop this day was the its surprisingly high Montjuïc, we remained in this verdant hill-park to Picasso Museum, which opened to the public in 1963 featuring major gifts visit the reconstruction of a sleek pavilion designed by the German archi- from the artist himself, who in his youth had moved to Barcelona with his tect Mies van der Rohe as his country’s submission to the 1929 world’s family and made his first independent masterworks here. fair in Barcelona. Located nearby is the palace-like National Museum of Catalan Art, which contains astonishing displays of the country’s Spain’s Capital Romanesque art, particularly entire church apses saved from mountain Early the next morning, 22 guests boarded one of Spain’s chic high- villages early in the 20th century. An unexpected surprise was the out- speed trains for a first-class voyage to Madrid, the country’s capital. We standing exhibition about Sorolla’s paintings of the sea, held at the Caixa were welcomed by the guide Ángela Ballesteros, who brought us to our Forum, an exuberantly designed factory now operated as an arts center luxurious hotel and then to the famous tapas bar Los Gatos Cerveceria by a Spanish bank. That night, many of us attended a dynamic perfor- for a delicious meal of local specialties. Soon we headed to the Thyssen- mance of flamenco and opera held in the luminous Palace of Catalan Bornemisza Museum, a treasure house of masterworks from the Renais- Music, another monument designed by Domènech i Montaner. sance onward, collected not only by the late Baron but also by his widow,

FineArtConnoisseur.com | January/February 2015 Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas (1656) was a highlight at the Prado, though its influence was apparent throughout our stay in Spain.

Larry Blovits and Kathy Jackson

Natasha and Tom Neihart

exhibition venue near the Prado that is operated by a leading insurance company. There we were welcomed by its director general, Pablo Jiménez Burillo, and its exhibition director, Nadia Arroyo Arce, who had arranged for us to see the brand-new exhibition Sorolla & America even before the press had arrived. (This is the same exhibition recently shown in Dallas and San Diego, and described in the October 2014 issue of Fine Art Con- noisseur.) We enjoyed an incisive tour by the art history Ph.D. candidate Maria Rosón, as well as time to study Sorolla’s masterworks on our own. The Sorolla focus continued as we headed to the large and charming studio-house he created for his family. Here we were greeted by director Carmen, whom we had met in Málaga. The day ended with a memora- Consuelo Luca de Tena, who briefed us on the museum’s plans before ble meal at El Corral de La Morería, a well-known venue for flamenco we experienced it independently. Armed with snacks, we boarded a performances. We were fortunate to see the athletic young dancer Juan motorcoach for the 45-minute drive south to the historic city of Toledo. Andres Maya, who apparently had never before worked with the more There we explored its atmospheric cathedral, and also the chapel of experienced star Karime Amaya. Santo Tomé (with its stunning painting by El Greco) and the Synagogue Our first full day in Madrid began with a panoramic tour of its of Santa Maria la Blanca. The day concluded with a breathtaking drive grand boulevards, followed by a visit to a museum established by the around the edge of Toledo, allowing us to admire its dramatic topogra- collector José Lázaro Galdiano (1862-1947). Rather like New York City’s phy and memorable skyline. Frick Collection, this is an exquisite mansion filled with superb fine and Needless to say, our final journey — from Toledo to Madrid — was decorative arts. After lunch in the lively San Miguel market, the rest of bittersweet. After sharing so much fun together, it was sad to bid farewell our day was spent inside one of the world’s greatest museums, the Prado. to friends old and new. Going our separate ways, we all agreed to try and Here we were welcomed by Javier Barón Thaidigsmann, who heads the gather again in the autumn of 2015, and we hope that you will consider department of 19th-century art and had co-curated the current block- joining us then, too. For details on that Rhine Art Cruise (rhineartcruise. buster exhibition, El Greco and Modern Painting, which demonstrated com), which starts with a lengthy “pre-trip” in Amsterdam, please see the influence of El Greco on many of the artists who followed him. page 20. n Barón was particularly generous in showing us the nine galleries he has reinstalled to feature more 19th-century masterworks, including top Information: To learn even more about the Rhine Art Cruise, contact Gabriel Haigazian, examples by Sorolla and the subject of Barón’s next project, the Orien- Creative Travel Planners, 5855 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Suite 220, Woodland Hills, talist painter Mariano Fortuny (1838-1874). CA 91367, 818.444.2700, [email protected]. Fortunately, this “post-trip” to Madrid ended on a complete high. September 23 began with a private visit to the Mapfre Foundation, an PETER TRIPPI is editor-in-chief of Fine Art Connoisseur.

FineArtConnoisseur.com | January/February 2015 BY PETER TRIPPI

DESTINATION ART

Fine Art Connoisseur’s sixth annual adventure abroad, the Rhine Art Cruise, delivered what it promised, and then some. Conceived by FAC publisher Eric Rhoads, the voyage this past autumn proved an ideal way to mix world-class art and architecture with five-star comforts and a delightfully cohesive group of 48 passengers who shared with each other their passion for beauty and quality. The complex history of the Rhine River Valley is not so familiar to North Americans, so our itinerary helped the travelers visualize its fascinating heritage. In fact, the cruise was preceded by two optional tours. First, a merry band of seven artists traveled with Eric Rhoads to paint picturesque scenes in the perfectly preserved medieval city of Bruges in Belgium, and then the windmill-filled village of Zaandijk northwest of Amsterdam. En route, they stopped to explore (LEFT) Conservator Lara van Wassenaer demonstrates a point in her Amsterdam studio. (RIGHT) Artist Urban the manufacturer of top-quality artists’ paints, Larsson describes the history of his spacious studio in Amsterdam. Old Holland — a particularly thrilling experience for working artists. Having checked into the luxurious five- star Hotel De L’Europe in central Amsterdam, this group then expanded to 28 people, who spent four action-packed days admiring some of the Netherlands’ famous artistic treasures, past and present. Their immersion began with a deliciously candid talk about the Dutch art scene by the private adviser Marina Aarts. From the window of our meeting room, we watched a spiffy canal boat alight at the hotel’s pier so that we could board it for our own tour of the city’s renowned waterways. Later we headed to the studio of the conservator Lara van Wassenaer, Rijksmuseum curator Jenny to whom many Dutch museums and private Reynaerts with Peter Trippi collectors turn when their Old Master paintings and Eric Rhoads need restoring. This was followed by drinks and conversation in the atmospheric studio of the

070 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2016 FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM Anne and Dick Keigher admire Van Gogh’s paintings at the Kröller-Müller Museum.

(ABOVE) At the Van Gogh Museum, Peter Trippi introduces senior researcher Teio Meedendorp (left) and chief curator of exhibitions Edwin Becker. (BELOW) At the Mauritshuis, photos in front of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring are forbidden, but....

(ABOVE) Lecturer Cora Hollema presented Peter Trippi with her newly translated biography of Thérèse Schwartze. (BELOW) AmaCerto was our home away from home.

painter Urban Larsson, who happens to be Lara the Rijksmuseum’s chic restaurant, we headed at Scheveningen. There was a reason for this: van Wassenaer’s husband and who was busy to the Van Gogh Museum, home to the world’s our next stop was the Panorama Mesdag, a rare working on a large portrait of a highly recogniz- greatest collection of you-know-who. Over cof- survival from the 19th century of what was able sitter. fee and cookies, we enjoyed an orientation by once a common attraction in the era before The next day brought us to the Rijksmu- chief curator of exhibitions Edwin Becker and cinema; a life-size, 360-degree re-creation of seum, one of the world’s greatest — and most senior researcher Teio Meedendorp, a rare the same Scheveningen beach we had just seen, newly renovated — art museums. Here we opportunity to learn about this institution’s painted by the marine master Hendrik Mesdag enjoyed an orientation by curator Jenny Reyn- exciting future plans. (The April 2016 issue (1831–1915) and his team. All of us were aston- aerts, who then guided us through the magnifi- of Fine Art Connoisseur will contain an article ished to emerge from a dark tunnel and spiral cent galleries of 19th-century art that she and on the Charles-François Daubigny [1817–1878] staircase to discover the brilliant, life-like vista her colleagues reinstalled recently. (In Febru- exhibition to open there after presentations in upstairs. To enhance our experience further, ary 2016, Reynaerts will open a groundbreaking Cincinnati and Edinburgh.) We then relished we headed to the nearby Mesdag Museum, the exhibition about the late-19th-century painter free time to discover the permanent collection, mansion where Mesdag and his artist wife, Sin- George Breitner, a former occupant of Urban and also the temporary exhibition comparing tje van Houten, lived and worked. It contains a Larsson’s studio.) Our visitors then indepen- Van Gogh with Edvard Munch. superb collection of 19th-century masterworks dently explored the museum’s paintings from The following day, a private motor coach by the couple’s artist friends, including Antonio Holland’s 17th-century “Golden Age,” including whisked us to The Hague, where we first Mancini, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, and John Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals. After lunch at scanned the broad beach facing the North Sea Singer Sargent. Having enjoyed free time shop-

FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2016 071 (LEFT TOP) Kasteel de Haar was expanded with Rothschild funds from the 1890s onward. (MIDDLE) Cruising the Rhine Gorge (BOTTOM) On the terrace at Heidelberg Castle

Autumn’s colors were on full display in both Amsterdam (ABOVE) and the Rhine Gorge.

ping (and eating herrings the Dutch way), we park, and we lucked out with another day of Given our shared passion for Rembrandt, headed to the Mauritshuis, the 17th-century sunny, mild weather. The strolling continued at it made sense for us to start the next day at the jewel box-mansion filled with Old Master the Jachthuis St. Hubertus, where the Kröller- Rembrandthuis, which brings to life his home treasures including Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Müller family lived. This is the finest residence and studio; we were especially fascinated by Earring. At day’s end, we unwound over a tangy built by Holland’s great Arts & Crafts architect, the informative demonstration of how his assis- rijsttafel supper, a reminder of The Hague’s Hendrik Petrus Berlage (1856–1934). Back in tants prepared his paints. Then it was on to the connection with Indonesia, formerly a Dutch Amsterdam, our day concluded at the historic elegant Willet-Holthuysen mansion facing one colony. artists’ club Arti & Amicitiae. Here we enjoyed of Amsterdam’s most prestigious canals, and The next day brought us to eastern Holland an illustrated lecture about the Dutch artist finally to AmaCerto. Built recently in the Neth- to explore the Kröller-Müller Museum, which Thérèse Schwartze (1851–1918), presented by erlands and operated by AmaWaterways of Los holds the second greatest collection of paint- her biographer Cora Hollema, who also signed Angeles, this is the sleek, 164-passenger vessel ings by Van Gogh, as well as other Impressionist copies of the newly published English-language that became our home for the next week. and modern masterpieces. The museum is set version of her book. (See Hollema’s fascinating We were not finished with the Netherlands, in a superb sculpture garden within a national article on page 48.) however. Rather than sitting through a dull

072 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2016 FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM 1. 2.

3. 4.

in historical and geographical context, giving Orthodox church (built in memory of a 19th- 1. At Strasbourg’s Palais Rohan, Peter Trippi gave an travelers an idea of what they will see in the century Russian princess), then walked through impromptu talk on a painting by William-Adolphe days ahead, and why those places look the way the town center. Back in Rüdesheim, most of us Bouguereau (1825–1905). 2. Mitch Neto and Mark they do. Once on land, we let native experts and toured Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet, a Jung snapped photos of each other as Andy Warhol. guides do the talking, though I often chime in kooky museum of delightful gadgets like player 3. Michelle Jung, Dawn Black, and Kathy Jackson dressed with questions and comments. pianos and orchestrions. as Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, and Georgia O’Keeffe. Our first stop in Germany was the bustling The next day was spent exploring the pic- 4. Complete with bandaged ears, Dan Whipple and city of Köln, centered on its enormous Gothic turesque city of Heidelberg, chiefly its roman- Rick Dickinson (center) became Vincent van Gogh cathedral, which we explored with local guides. tically ruinous castle overlooking the Neckar while “painting” the tour’s beloved coordinator Gabriel We then strolled through the important yet River. We also sampled the diverse collections Haigazian (left) and his patient colleague Howard Wise. under-recognized Wallraf-Richartz Museum, of the Kurpfälzisches Museum, located on focusing there on its collection of medieval art one of Germany’s longest pedestrian shopping from the Rhineland, especially colorful altar- streets. The shops were even more enticing the series of canal locks, we boarded a motor coach pieces. The next day was spent cruising the next day among the quaint, half-timbered lanes that brought us to admire a windmill Rem- most scenic part of the Rhine (officially the of Strasbourg, which is actually on the French brandt once painted. Then it was on to Kasteel “Rhine Gorge,” now a UNESCO World Heritage side of the Rhine, yet very German in personal- de Haar, Holland’s largest and most luxurious site). This is the winding portion of the river, ity. After a walking tour of the historic center, country house — the ancestral home of the Van where vineyard-covered hills plunge to the including its cathedral, we explored the fine Zuylens, but totally renovated with the Roths- shore, separated from the river only by single- and decorative arts collections inside the Palais childs’ fortune from the 1890s onward. From road villages and railway lines. The best way to Rohan that once housed the archbishop. there we rejoined our ship, and we were off to absorb the spectacular beauty of this region is Back aboard the AmaCerto, October 31 Germany. to sit atop a riverboat like AmaCerto — swad- ended with a blow-out Halloween celebration; dled in blankets and sipping coffee spiked with many of our guests took to heart the suggestion GERMANY AND EVEN FRANCE local brandy. That is exactly what we did for that they dress like their favorite artist. Aston- One feature of Fine Art Connoisseur’s six hours, later arriving in quaint Rüdesheim, ishing the ship’s other passengers were an array cruises is that I deliver a total of three illustrated from where we headed to the beautiful spa of starry names: three different Andy Warhols, lectures exclusively to our group during sailing town of Wiesbaden. There we drove to a hill- three Frida Kahlos, two Vincent van Goghs, plus hours. These are intended to set our experience top crowned with an unexpectedly beautiful Salvador Dalí, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mary Cassatt,

FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2016 073 1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

1. Pandora Dickinson channeled our recent encounter with Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. 2. Libby Whipple morphed into John Singer Sargent’s Madame X. 3. Elvis (Greg Meador) returned for one evening only. 4. David Orcutt and Peter Trippi arrived as Luciano Pavarotti and a witchy version of Henri Matisse with paper-cutting scissors. 5. Mrs. Katz discussed the history of Freiburg’s Jewish community. 6. Peter Trippi (left) and Eric Rhoads (right) in Freiburg with Manfred, Susanne, Eugen, and Margret Baldas

074 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2016 FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, the Girl with a Pearl Earring, John Singer Sargent’s Madame X, James Rorimer of the Monuments Men, Rose Valland (who secretly recorded what the Nazis stole from the Lou- vre), and even Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and Luciano Pavarotti. AmaCerto staffers assured us they had never seen anything quite like us. Alas, all good things must end, so our final day together was in Freiburg, capital of Germany’s Black Forest region. Here, in heavy fog, we explored the marvelous cathedral, and also the synagogue rebuilt by members of the city’s Jewish community who sur- vived the Holocaust. We were particularly grateful to Mrs. Katz, the head of that community, for sharing her insights inside the sanctuary. The day closed on a lighter note, when we met up with four locals related to Peter Strub, who has sailed on four previous Fine Art Cruises and was actually born in the center of Freiburg. On hand to welcome us were his cousins Eugen and Manfred Baldas, along with their wives, Margret and Susanne (respectively). Together we ascended the Schlossberg hill (by foot or funicu- lar) to Dattler, a charming café that serves outstanding cakes baked with the region’s famous fruits and liqueurs. Our goodbyes upon docking at Basel (Switzer- land) were bittersweet. After sharing so much fun, it was sad to bid farewell to friends old and new. We all agreed to try to gather again in the autumn of 2016, when the Fine Art Cruise will try something new. From October 14 through 21, we will sail with AmaWaterways in southwestern France, specifically on the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, which merge to form the Gironde estuary. Internationally renowned for such wines as Sauterne, Medoc, St. Émilion, and Cognac, this is a region increasingly admired for its historic art and architecture, found in such scenic spots as Bordeaux, Bergerac, Bourg, Cadillac, Libourne, Paulliac, and the chateaux of Roquetail- lade, Blaye, and D’Montaigne. Having relaxed and savored French cuisine, we will then fly (nonstop) from Bordeaux to London, taking up residence in a central hotel to explore the metropolis’s renowned art treasures from October 21 through 26. We sin- cerely hope that you will consider joining us then.

Information: To learn more about next year’s adventure, contact Gabriel Haigazian, Creative Travel Plan- ners, 5855 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Suite 220, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, 818.444.2700, gabriel@ thectpgroup.com.

Peter Trippi is editor-in-chief of Fine Art Connoisseur. All photos courtesy Eric Rhoads.

(TOP) Six-time cruiser Charles Raskob Robinson (left) is renowned for his cravats, so Dan Whipple, Bob Wrathall, and Roger Rossi wore their own cravats in his honor. (MIDDLE) Charla and Bob Nelson proudly sport the commemorative T-shirts they received in celebration of their five consecutive years cruising with Fine Art Connoisseur. (BOTTOM) Dick Keigher, Lamar Matthews, Eric Rhoads, and Roger Rossi all sported berets.

FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2016 075 BY PETER TRIPPI

DESTINATION ART THE RUSSIAN ART TRIP BEST EVER?

ine Art Connoisseur’s eighth only strategy went so well that we will stick Having said all of that, many of our travel- annual adventure abroad, the with it indefinitely. ers came home saying this was the best trip of Russian Art Trip, delivered Russia is one of the world’s most fascinat- their lives. The outstanding quality of Russia’s what it promised and much ing and artistically accomplished countries, but visual art — both historical and contemporary — more. Conceived by FAC pub- going there has never been straightforward, simply amazed them, even those who had vis- lisher Eric Rhoads, the 10-day even before its current disputes with the U.S. ited before. The group was particularly taken tour last September proved an Right from the beginning, there are hurdles: for with Moscow; some had anticipated a dour ideal way to mix world-class art and architec- example, most tourists must obtain an (expen- sprawl of barren avenues, but found instead a ture with five-star comforts and a delightfully sive) visa in advance. Surprisingly few Russians, multi-textured capital sparkling with colored cohesive group of 44 passengers who shared even in the largest cities, speak English, and their lights and whirring with cranes renovating with each other their passion for beauty, qual- Cyrillic alphabet is difficult for foreigners to almost every quarter of the city center. Fity, and learning. This was the magazine’s decipher. Moreover, patronizing five-star hotels This impression of vitality was intensi- first travel program conducted entirely on dry and restaurants is not cheap because plenty of fied the day we arrived because our elegantly land; although we still love cruises, this land- wealthy Russians can afford these amenities. minimalist Four Seasons Hotel was surrounded

(LEFT) Dawn Black and Laurie Rhoads at St. Basil’s Cathedral (RIGHT) In front of Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery

096 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2018 FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM (TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT) Artist Kolya Dubovik guided us through the Surikov Institute, where he studied. Like his son Kolya, the artist Nikolai Dubovik was invaluable in arranging several private visits. (BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT) Peter Trippi gave an illustrated lecture about Russian art and history at the Surikov Institute. David Orcutt traveled in comfort on the high-speed Sapsan train from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Folk musicians performed at the Podvorye restaurant.

by a popular street festival celebrating Moscow’s sian Orthodox churches never disappoint, and 870th anniversary. Overlooking the walls of the this pair are among the most important, nestled Kremlin, the Four Seasons is located only one inside Russian Orthodoxy’s Vatican. block from Red Square and the Bolshoi Opera. Lunch was in a café facing Red Square — Once inside our soundproofed rooms, we rested the first of the tour’s many unexpectedly deli- and changed in time to gather for a jolly cocktail cious restaurants, including one specializing in reception in the hotel’s chic bar. There everyone tangy Georgian cuisine and another designed introduced themselves and learned what we entirely by a metal sculptor. After lunch we would be doing the following day. toured onion-domed St. Basil’s Cathedral, then the impressive State Historical Museum. The THE BEST OF MOSCOW day closed with my first overview lecture, illus- That next morning, which happened to be trated with slides and maps, and the presenta- September 11, our professional guides walked tion of commemorative T-shirts to our repeat us through the verdant Alexander Gardens and travelers. Eight-time veteran Roger Rossi was right into the Kremlin. Cold War babies were formally crowned Tsar and would take advan- surprised to learn that — unlike the Pentagon — tage of his regal privileges often. almost anyone can walk into the Kremlin, which The next morning saw us explore the is essentially a hilltop park rich with magnificent Tretyakov Gallery, again before the pub- cathedrals and museums, though there are also lic arrived. Devoted to Russian art, it offers closely guarded government offices. We arrived one surprise after another, particularly the early to enjoy a tour of the Armory and Diamond immense size of many canvases. After lunch we Fund before the public arrived; these are treas- visited the Zamoskvorechye gallery, where we ure houses filled with extraordinary decorative were welcomed by the artists Kolya Dubovik artworks, including jewels, Fabergé objects, and some of the world’s greatest silver. We concluded with tours of the medieval Dormition and One of the nine Imperial Easter Eggs at the Fabergé Annunciation cathedrals; with their colorfully Museum painted screens and glinting gold trims, Rus-

FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2018 097 (TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT) Rembrandt’s painting Danaë at the Hermitage Our visit to St. Petersburg’s Repin Institute was organized by Ulrich Gleiter (left), who introduced us to his former instructor there, Yury Kalyuta. In his St. Petersburg studio, Nikolai Blokhin begins a portrait of Eric Rhoads. (BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT) Lani Emanuel, Jill Stoliker, Betsy Fischer, Mary Burrichter, Natasha Vorotnikova, Jane Barton Wen Newman, Cara Rhoads, Charla and Bob Nelson Marcia Wegman, Patricia Gray, Gwen Gutwein, Anita Gildea, Debbie and Dennis Getter

Bigger has always been better in Russia

(LEFT) At the Tretyakov Gallery, A.A. Ivanov’s The Appearance of Christ Before the People (1837-57) was one of many gigantic paintings. (RIGHT) At the Repin Institute, graduate Ruzanna Teterina stands alongside her enormous diploma painting.

098 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2018 FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM (LEFT) Claudia Clayton and Bob Wrathall (RIGHT) Hermitage director Dr. Mikhail Piotrovsky welcomed Peter Trippi (right) and Eric Rhoads to his office.

Hats proved a source of constant amusement

(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Dusty and Dawn Black wear hats marking Moscow’s 870th anniversary. Rick Dickinson Mary Ellen Hibey and “Tsar” Roger Rossi, also known as Ambassador of International Art Travel Linda and Larry Blovits Katie and Libby Whipple keep warm on the open-air tour of St. Petersburg’s canals.

FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2018 099 In Moscow, many guests acquired artworks made by the Kugach family of artists

(TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT) Dick and Anne Keigher Dick Hibey Debbie and Dennis Getter (BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT) Greg and Gale Meador with Ivan Kugach (right) Mark and Michelle Jung with Mikhail Kugach (center) Barbara Lynn Pedersen

and his father, Nikolai, who worked tirelessly alternated between the museum and the stor- ters as Monet and Picasso. The day closed to ensure our stay in Moscow was a success. age space of the well-known Kugach family of with a festive dinner cruise along the Moscow On view at this gallery was a handsome selling artists. There Mikhail Kugach and his son, Ivan, River; much time was spent photographing exhibition of recent paintings by Kolya and his explained their visions while unpacking dozens the floodlit spires of the Kremlin and Red contemporaries. We concluded our day at the of canvases for us to admire, and in many cases, Square. “New” Tretyakov Gallery, where we admired to buy. Alas, we could not remain in Moscow for- — sometimes puzzled over — masterworks On September 14, we headed to the 19th- ever. While some shopped for souvenirs, oth- of Soviet Socialist Realism, several depicting century studio house of Viktor Vasnetsov ers joined me at the historic Hotel Metropol, Stalin as a man of the people. In the evening, (1848–1926), the great painter of Russian leg- where we met with a group of talented Ameri- some of us attended a sumptuous production ends. This offered a taste of old Moscow, when can artists on their way to the countryside for of Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov (1873) at what are now urban neighborhoods were for- two weeks of painting outdoors. Garin Baker, the Bolshoi. ests and fields. We then headed to the Insti- Ken DeWaard, Stapleton Kearns, T.M. Nicholas, The following day, the Duboviks swung tute of Russian Realist Art, a privately funded and Steven Wood were accompanied by their open the doors of the famous art academy, museum filled with spectacular paintings Russian colleague Irina Rybakova, and we all the Surikov Institute, where both studied. We from every decade of the 20th century. After agreed to remain in touch once home. Having were privileged to explore much of the build- lunch came the enormous Cathedral of Christ been delivered to the Leningradskiy station, ing while meeting officials, instructors, and the Savior, the replica built in the 1990s on we boarded a spotlessly clean Sapsan train and students who showed us their creations and the site of the 19th-century landmark bar- sped the 440 miles to St. Petersburg in only processes. Our visit there closed with my sec- barically demolished by Stalin in 1931. Having four hours. Within 30 minutes, we were set- ond illustrated lecture, and then it was on to ogled the sumptuous gilding inside this, the tled at the classic Belmond Grand Hotel Europe, the Museum of Russian Impressionism, estab- world’s tallest Orthodox church, we crossed which overlooks the city’s main shopping lished recently by a private collector in a former the street to the Pushkin State Museum of boulevard, Nevsky Prospekt, and also the Arts chocolate factory. Due to space restrictions, Fine Art annex devoted to superb 19th- and Square, home to the Philharmonic and State the group was broken into two and visits were 20th-century paintings by such French mas- Russian Museum.

100 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2018 FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM RUSSIA’S NORTHERN CAPITAL de luxe including nine of the Imperial Easter That evening, some of the group headed to bed Autumn had already arrived in St. Peters- Eggs once owned by the American publisher in order to catch early flights home the next burg, but we determinedly shivered through Malcolm Forbes. morning, while others of us enjoyed Tchaiko- an instructive canal-boat tour of central St. It would be unthinkable to visit St. Peters- vsky’s opera The Queen of Spades (1890) at the Petersburg. This allowed us to understand the burg without seeing the Hermitage, so we new Mariinsky Theatre. imperial capital’s unique architectural his- arranged to see it on a Monday, when the pub- tory and geography: essentially it is an Italian- lic cannot enter. Needless to say, it was a treat KUDOS designed city willed into existence from 1703 to admire masterworks by Rembrandt, Rubens, As always, it was bittersweet to part with by Tsar Peter the Great because he wanted a and others, and also grand chambers used by friends old and new. This was an exception- sea-going port facing Europe. We proceeded the tsars for official functions. The afternoon ally merry group, their mood surely lightened to explore the 19th-century cathedral of St. was spent at the State Russian Museum, known by our peerless travel coordinator, Gabriel Isaac’s, then the Baroque cathedral within the for its native treasures ranging from medieval Haigazian (CTP Group, California), and his Peter & Paul Fortress, where most Romanov icons to 20th-century modernism. Although colleague Howard Wise. We are thrilled to rulers are buried. The afternoon was spent dis- it was not technically our last night together, confirm that our team’s next trip will explore covering two suburban palaces where some of we decided to host our farewell banquet this Italy this coming October — again entirely them spent their summers: Pavlovsk and Cath- evening at the opulent palace of Grand Duke land-based. Italy is synonymous with great erine Palace were both painstakingly restored Vladmir, a few doors from the Hermitage. Our art, architecture, dining, and music, so we after severe damage by Nazi occupiers during party occurred in its former theater, where expect to have a marvelous time. This will World War II. The day closed with a vodka- we were joined by the German-born, Russian- entail multi-day stays in Tuscany and Rome, fueled dinner at the Podvorye restaurant, trained artist Ulrich Gleiter and his Russian which can be expanded with an optional pre- where quaintly attired singers regale guests wife, Ruzanna Teterina. This was appropriate, stay in Milan and/or an optional post-stay with folk songs. because they were arranging our private visit along the Bay of Naples. For details, please Another suburban expedition opened to the Repin Institute (Academy of Fine Arts) contact Gabriel Haigazian via 818.444.2700 the next day. This started with the recently the following day. or [email protected]. Our official restored Chinese Palace on the grounds of That final day began with free time inside website, italianarttrip.com, will be active in Oranienbaum; there Catherine the Great the Hermitage’s vast General Staff Building, mid-January. commissioned spectacular interior decora- which now contains a chic redisplay of its tions that escaped German vandalism. Next it French modern art treasures, including Mat- was to Peterhof, which Peter the Great mod- isse, Cézanne, and Picasso. After lunch we were PETER TRIPPI is editor-in-chief of Fine Art Con- eled on Versailles, complete with gilded foun- welcomed at the Repin Institute by its vice rec- noisseur. All photos courtesy Eric Rhoads. tains that lead from the house down to the tor Andrey Sklyarenko, and also by the distin- Gulf of Finland. Having explored its verdant guished painter and academician Yury Kalyuta, gardens on a sunny afternoon, we boarded a who once taught Ulrich there. We moved on hydrofoil that sped us back to St. Petersburg to the studio of yet another well-known tal- in 35 minutes. This gave us time to visit the ent, Nikolai Blokhin, who proceeded to begin new-ish Fabergé Museum, filled with objets his portrait of Eric Rhoads while we watched.

The palace of Grand Duke Vladimir formed the perfect backdrop to our farewell banquet in St. Petersburg

(LEFT TO RIGHT) Liza Guest Kathy Jackson The palace’s theater became our dining room.

FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2018 101 BY PETER TRIPPI

DESTINATION ART THE ITALIAN ART TRIP: FUN IN THE SUN ine Art Connoisseur’s ninth annual adventure abroad, the Italian Art Trip, delivered what it promised and much more. Conceived by FAC publisher Eric Rhoads, the tour last October proved an ideal way to mix world-class art and architecture with five-star comforts and a delightfully cohesive group of 42 travelers who shared Fwith each other their passion for beauty, quality, and learning. Our adventure started with an optional three-night pre-trip in Milan, then the core trip (four nights in Florence and four nights in Rome), followed by an optional post- trip of four nights in Sorrento. Some guests who participated all 15 nights were dreaming in Ital- ian by the end, and others had tans because the weather was so sunny, though not hot. Italy was a natural choice because it features great art and architecture ranging from antiquity right through today. Even those who Peter Trippi delivers an illustrated lecture. had previously visited our destinations discovered things they had missed before. During the core trip, I presented two illustrated lectures that set our upcoming sites (and their artworks) we are pretty sure everyone gained at least five MILAN AND LAKE COMO into historical context so they would make pounds, as the meals were always delicious and Milan is a major artistic center too, sometimes sense when we finally got there. plentiful. overlooked in favor of more famous cities else- In Italy, visitors feel comfortable strolling Our logistics proved to be incredibly where in Italy. Those who had not visited before by themselves because the locals are extraordi- easy. Once they reached Milan, guests never were amazed by the quality of art and architec- narily friendly, so our planning team scheduled lugged a suitcase again. On the morning of ture, and of course by the elegance of the resi- considerable free time for guests to explore on each departure day, bags set outside your door dents, given Milan’s status as a world capital of their own. This was made easier by the fact that would magically disappear and turn up again fashion and design. Our stay at the Hotel Princ- our luxurious five-star hotels were well-located; in your next hotel room later that day. This ipe di Savoia got off to a rollicking start with a if you did not want to walk to your restaurant or abracadabra effect was enhanced by the fact welcome reception, including my 10-minute opera performance, you could easily take a taxi that no train or bus trip took much longer than overview of what we would soon see. there. Having said that, the program included 90 minutes; Italy is blessed with a superb rail The next day featured a panoramic drive all breakfasts and most lunches and suppers; and road network. through Milan — including a stop at the enormous

114 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2019 FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM (ABOVE) The Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como and (BELOW) On the terrace of the Villa del Balbianello

Director James Bradburne speaks to our group on the loggia of Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera.

Castello Sforzesco — on our way to the monastery of Santa Maria delle Gra- zie. There we enjoyed a (nearly) private viewing of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, which has been restored and perfectly lit so it can be admired properly. Our walking tour downtown brought us to the exquisite Museo Bagatti Valsecchi, a historic house filled with superb Renaissance decorative arts, sculptures, arms, and armor collected by a noble family. At Milan’s greatest art museum, the Pinacoteca di Brera, which features major examples by all of the great Renaissance and Baroque masters, we were greeted by director James Bradburne. Some guests had already met him in 2012 when he headed Florence’s Palazzo Strozzi; during his lively talk this year, James kindly explained how he has reinvigorated the Brera (to dazzling effect). The next morning found us driving northeast to the town of Como, FLORENCE where we boarded our own boat and set sail for a full-day excursion on Our group had expanded in number (from 18 to 42) by the time we assem- scenic Lake Como. Our first stop was the Villa Carlotta, which contains bled for another welcome reception at the Hotel Savoy in central Florence. major sculptures by the classicist Antonio Canova. After exploring the This party featured a round robin in which every guest introduced herself or pretty town of Bellagio, we relaxed for a delicious lunch on the terrace himself, including comments on which places folks were most eager to see. of Locanda dell’Isola Comacina while its merry owner regaled us with the colorful history of this private island. The big finale was the stunning Villa del Balbianello, best known for its garden and terrace overlooking (BELOW, LEFT TO RIGHT) Monsignor Timothy Verdon makes a point at Florence’s Museo the lake. Inside we gladly explored its jewel-box interiors, which feature dell’Opera del Duomo. Dr. Rocky Ruggiero speaking in one of the Medici Chapels, many ethnographic artifacts brought home by the mansion’s final owner, Florence Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia, Florence the explorer Guido Monzino. Balbianello was opened especially for us that day, so we took our time.

FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2019 115 (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Dr. Linda Falcone gives a talk at the Museo di San Marco. Ramiro Sanchez, the Florence Academy of Art’s director of advanced painting Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne at the Galleria Borghese, Rome At the Piazzale Michelangelo overlooking Florence

Few guests were prepared for the extraor- its atmospheric library, basilica, and Medici underwritten by AWA, which had sadly — just dinary morning that followed. We walked two Chapels featuring sculptures and architectural the previous month — lost its visionary Ameri- blocks from the hotel to the Museo dell’Opera designs by Michelangelo. Speaking of Flor- can founder, Jane Fortune. del Duomo, a museum opened a few years ence’s leading family, we also explored the Soon we moved to the Accademia, home ago that has revolutionized the way the world Palazzo Medici Riccardi, with its brilliantly to many treasures but most famously Michel- sees Florentine sculpture and architecture. colorful Chapel of the Magi decorated by angelo’s David. No matter how many good It contains thousands of treasures related to Benozzo Gozzoli. photographs you might see, there is nothing Florence’s famous cathedral (Duomo) and The next morning shifted our attention like standing in front of this huge masterwork. the structures around it. Here we were given to the long-overlooked contributions made by The day concluded with a thorough tour of a warm welcome and thorough tour by its women to the Florentine Renaissance. Wait- the Church of Santa Maria Novella, and then founding director, Monsignor Timothy Verdon, ing to welcome us to the Museo di San Marco some guests headed for its renowned pharmacy a fascinating American priest with a Ph.D. in was Dr. Linda Falcone, director of the Advanc- nearby, in business for six centuries. art history from Yale. It was especially poign- ing Women Artists Foundation (AWA). She After many guests participated in Sunday ant that one of our talented guides in Florence kindly brought us to a closed gallery inside Mass at the Duomo, the group regathered at the — Dr. Rocky Ruggiero — had studied with Msgr. the museum to tell us more about the remark- small but charming Palazzo Davanzati, which Verdon himself. able painter (and nun) Plautilla Nelli, right in recreates the experience of living in a Florentine This stimulating day also featured a visit front of her large depiction of The Lamenta- patrician’s house during the late Middle Ages. to the massive complex of San Lorenzo, with tion with Saints. Its recent conservation was The day’s pièce-de-resistance was a guided tour of

116 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2019 FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM Gazing in wonder inside the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum, Rome Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphilj welcomes us to his family home in Rome. the Galleria degli Uffizi, with its renowned Bot- its remarkable interior, recently restored with ROME ticelli, Raphael, and Leonardo paintings. support from the American noprofit Friends of In Rome, the Grand Hotel Baglioni Regina Our final morning in Tuscany was spent Florence. Before we bade farewell to this great became our home away from home. It was at the Florence Academy of Art, founded in city, we spent half an hour taking photos of it also just a 10-minute walk, on our first morn- 1991 by the American-born artist Daniel Graves. from the Piazzale Michelangelo. ing, to the Galleria Borghese, the stunning col- (Please see the article about him on page 68, and lection of treasures including Gian Lorenzo also his self-portrait on page 146.) Nearly the Bernini’s life-size sculpture Apollo and Daphne. entire faculty and leadership were on hand to The group was “at ease” for the rest of the welcome us to their enormous facility, opened day because we knew the evening would be two years ago — including Daniel himself, his devoted to the Vatican Museum. We arrived wife, Anki, Susan Tintori, Tom Richards, Ram- there as the last tourists departed; suddenly iro Sanchez, Mitch Shea, Simona Dolci, and a gigantic door opened and we were ushered Maureen Hyde. A special highlight was the inside… the place was ours for more than two pop-up exhibition of recent artworks by faculty hours, including a whole hour in Michelange- and students that our guests eagerly purchased lo’s Sistine Chapel. Instead of contending there and shipped home (or carried away). Last but with the usual hordes jostling shoulder to not least, the group headed to the renowned Church of San Miniato al Monte to explore (LEFT) John Ochsendorf, director of the American Academy in Rome, with Claudia Clayton and Bob Wrathall The Loggia of Psyche and Cupid at Rome’s Villa Farnesina The farewell celebration at the Palazzo Colonna, Rome

FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2019 117 A street in Pompeii The view over Capri and the Bay of Naples from the Villa San Michele Eric Rhoads, Cinthia Joyce, and Laurie Rhoads learn how to cook Italian- style at the Villa Ida in Sorrento. the getaway home of the Swedish writer Axel Munthe. After free time to explore both Anaca- shoulder, we were able to sit and gaze upward pri and downtown Capri, we hydrofoiled back as our guides explained every detail. It is pos- to Sorrento and headed to our private cooking sible that Eric Rhoads is the only person who class at the Villa Ida. This is a private compound has ever posted a Facebook Live broadcast where the charming host family gleefully from inside the Sistine Chapel (still viewable guided us through the preparing of an entire on his Facebook page). In fact, he filmed until Sorrentine meal, complete with aprons and a a guard spotted him! tasting of wines they make on site. The next day was spent visiting the Alas, our weather luck ran out the day we recently restored Colosseum, walking through visited Naples. Pouring rain discouraged us from the Forum, and then ascending the Vittoriano strolling its cobbled streets, but we enjoyed an monument to survey all of Rome. After lunch intriguing visit to the reconstructed Church and we visited the always-moving Pantheon, then Monastery of Santa Chiara, then an impressive explored the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, the panoramic drive along the city’s coast. The day’s Baroque mansion of one of Rome’s grandest highlight was the Museo Archeologico Nazion- families. A special treat was the welcome from ale di Napoli, Italy’s single greatest collection of Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphilj, who lives antiquities, which is particularly rich with dis- there and told us why he and his sister are coveries from Pompeii and Herculaneum. so proud to share it with the public. We con- On our final day came the glorious Amalfi cluded the day at the famous Fontana di Trevi, SORRENTO coast, which we ogled gladly from our bus win- where we hurled coins into the water in hopes Our group slimmed down again (to 16) for the dows. We dodged rain clouds while strolling the we will return to Rome. post-trip stay at the enchanting Hilton Sor- romantic streets of Positano and Amalfi, where Our final day in the Eternal City began in rento Palace, set on a hill overlooking its own the sun finally emerged as we watched the huge the ancient neighborhood of Trastevere, visit- citrus grove and the Bay of Naples beyond. waves crash against the cliffs. It is no wonder ing the Church of Santa Maria with its glittering On our drive south from Rome, we explored why this region’s extraordinary juxtaposition mosaics and also the Villa Farnesina. The latter the ruins at Pompeii, surely the most famous of ocean and mountain has inspired visitors for is a Renaissance summer getaway that thrills archeological site anywhere. Delightfully free thousands of years. still visitors with Raphael’s famous Galatea of the crowds and heat one normally associ- fresco, as well as its brilliant wall decorations ates with them, Pompeii’s houses, streets, and KUDOS by Giulio Romano and Baldassare Peruzzi. Few amphitheaters make visible the city’s destruc- As always, it was bittersweet to part with foreigners ever make it uphill to the Ameri- tion during the explosion of Mount Vesuvius friends old and new. This was an exceptionally can Academy in Rome, an impressive building in 79 AD. Our visit was not somber at all, but merry group, their mood surely lightened by designed by McKim Mead & White in the early later Eric Rhoads mused eloquently, “Though our peerless travel coordinator, Gabriel Haiga- 1900s and now a research center where great I’ve traveled the world, this trip to Italy — and zian (CTP Group, California), and his colleague American artists and scholars study, paint, com- especially the visit to Pompeii — had a profound Howard Wise. pose, write, and choreograph. There we were impact on me. In a way, it put me in my place, We are thrilled to confirm that the next welcomed by director John Ochsendorf before taking away any smugness about how good we trip — our 10th annual — will explore Provence savoring lunch among the “fellows” and a thor- are at things today. This trip demonstrated that and the French Riviera this coming October. ough tour with longtime staffer Tina Cancemi. life was equally rich in art and the good life in This region is synonymous with great art, archi- An extra bonus was the Academy’s Villa Aurelia, centuries past. Humanity’s fate is ashes to ashes, tecture, dining, and sunshine, so we expect which offers impressive views over the city. The but artworks remain to tell future generations to have a marvelous time. For details, please day was capped by a splendid farewell celebra- who their creators were.” contact Gabriel Haigazian at 818.444.2700 or tion at the Palazzo Colonna. In one of Rome’s The next day found us departing Sorren- [email protected]. Our official website, grandest buildings, we toured its great art col- to’s marina on a hydrofoil headed to the fabled finearttrip.com, will be active in mid-January. lection before enjoying drinks on the terrace island of Capri. Upon arriving we boarded con- overlooking the Piazza Venezia. Dinner was vertible taxis that zoomed up hairpin curves served in a grand pavilion erected centuries ago to the beautiful Villa San Michele. Set high on PETER TRIPPI is editor-in-chief of Fine Art for just this purpose. a mountain overlooking the sea, this was once Connoisseur.

118 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2019 FINEARTCONNOISSEUR· COM