Classes and Reading

If you’re thinking about a trip to Europe some time well in the future, say in six months or a year, one of the best things you can do now to prepare is to take a course in Art History, European History, or Architecture. A survey course in Art History, in particular, will vastly increase the relevance and interest of all of those paintings and statues. Most of the truly unique attractions of Europe, particularly in Italy and France, involve art and/or architecture in one form or another. Knowing even the basics about the major artists of the various periods will vastly increase your enjoyment of their works. If you don’t have the time or opportu-nity to take a course, any decent library will have several metric tons of those big glossy books on art and artists. My personal favorites are the Time-Life History of Art series - about thirty books, each concentrating on one particular artist and his world.

They are designed for the general population, have beautiful illustrations, and are well written. Unfortunately, they’ve been out of print for a while, so look for them, in libraries. Look also for the Thames & Hudson art books: well-illustrated paperbacks, each of which covers a particular artistic or architectural style or era. Of course, any major bookstore will have loads of new, glossy picture books on every conceivable artist. In any book, if you see a painting or piece of sculpture you like, note where it is (the location is usually written right next to the picture), then go see it when you get there. When you do, be prepared for a surprise, since what is beautiful on a page in a book is very often spectacular in real life, particularly sculptures.

Along with books on artists, also look for books which concentrate on the contents of a specific museum -these can often be more practical for someone traveling to only a few cities.No matter how much time you spend reading about art and architecture, I don’t think you’ll regret it. I’ve certainly never heard anyone say that they have. On the other hand, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard someone say, “I wish I knew more about this stuff, so it was more to me than just a bunch of paintings.”