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Posts tagged ‘France’

Jun 1

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Including Local Celebrations in Your Travels

The monthly ArtSmart Roundtable brings together some of the best art-focused travel blogs to post on a common theme.  This month we are discussing Festivals!  Take a look at all the great stories at the bottom of the page.

Hungarian Day decorations by children

Hand-made items by children decorate the 1849 Hungarian Army memorial.  The soldiers honored with this monument died during the 1849 Revolution which is celebrated on Hungarian National Day on March 15.

I’ve seen some amazing places in my travels and have always had excellent timing.  I’ve met the right person and ended up getting a private castle tour or been in the right place and got swept up in religious procession.  Somehow recently I just happened to be in town during a national holiday or religious celebration.  But unlike Carnival in Rio, Venice or New Orleans which are internationally know parties, the festivals I found were mainly for the locals.  Seeing how a community celebrates with their own customs, foods, and crafts makes for an incredible cultural experience.  It has convinced me that if you really want genuine travel, then you have to include local celebrations in your travel plans.

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May 11

flower design World War I trnech art shells
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Trench Art: Creativity in an Unexpected Place

The monthly ArtSmart Roundtable brings together some of the best art-focused travel blogs to post on a common theme.  This month we are discussing War and Peace.  I think you’ll find some really interesting articles on this topic, so take a look at the bottom of the page for them all.

French World War I trench art

The diverse collection of French World War I trench art at the Musee de Somme 1916 includes painted, cut, shaped, and hammered pieces.

Artists across cultures, time, and place have depicted war, from the vases of ancient Greece to the romanticized paintings of Napoleon’s campaigns.  However a common thread is that these images of battle were created by those not involved in fighting, or were done years after the fact for patriotic or sentimental reasons.  What we don’t often see is art created by soldiers in the midst of battle and experiencing the brutality of conflict.  When they do create, often as a means of distraction, these pieces constitute a tiny genre called Trench Art.

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Apr 8

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Real Gardens that Inspired Art

The monthly ArtSmart Roundtable brings together some of the best art-focused travel blogs to post on a common theme.  This month we are discussing Spring!  Take a look at all the great stories at the bottom of the page.

"The Unicorn in Captivity", Netherlandish, 1495-1505 (Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Unfortunately the unicorn in this lovely garden is pure fantasy.  “The Unicorn in Captivity”, Netherlandish, 1495-1505 (Photo: The Cloisters Collection)

While Washington D.C. has been stubbornly cold this March, I’m just starting to see the first bulbs pop up.  And nothing announces Spring like flowers!  Gardens and their exquisite flora have always been a popular subject in Art, but not all of the places in these paintings are made up locations.  Let’s take a look at a few of the “real” gardens behind some famous paintings.

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Jan 5

Vincent van Gogh - The Sower
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Van Gogh 2015: 125 Years of Inspiration

The monthly ArtSmart Roundtable brings together some of the best art-focused travel blogs to post on a common theme.  This month we are discussing the 2015 Art Outlook.  Check out all the stories below!

Van Gogh 2015If you’re like me, then you spend January contemplating where to go in the New Year.  Do you plan several small trips close to home, or is this the year of the big, adventure getaway?  While you think about that, let me try to tempt you with a few art pilgrimages options to see one of the greatest painters of Western Art – Vincent Van Gogh.  In honor of the 125th anniversary of his death this year, several superb museums in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France will be hosting events and exhibits celebrating his unique and visionary art.

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Nov 11

Memorial Monument - Somme American Cemetery
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4 Places to Discover World War I History

This year, Veterans Day is particularly poignant as we commemorate the 100th Anniversary of World War I.  While many of us recognize the startling images of World War II, the Great War from 1914-1918 remains a little more distant.  To gain some new understanding on this centenary, here are four of the best destinations for discovering World War I history.

World War I, High Wood cemetery, France

A poppy among the British and French graves from the Battle of the Somme at the High Wood Cemetery, France (Photo)

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