The GettyBack to Exhibitions

Italy on the Grand Tour


Exhibitions Overview

What was the Grand Tour?

Experience the Grand Tour

Exhibitions Events
Come see the art of the Grand Tour for yourself. Three separate exhibitions highllighting Getty collections explore various aspects of the Grand Tour and its importance as an artistic and cultural phenomenon.

Naples and Vesuvius on the Grand Tour Naples and Vesuvius on the Grand Tour
December 21, 2001 - March 24, 2002
Getty Research Institute Exhibition Gallery


This exhibition explores Naples as a tourist destination during the period that Sir William Hamilton was the British ambassador to Naples, 1764 to 1800. A passionate collector of art and antiquities, Hamilton was equally drawn to natural wonders and archaeological discoveries. He played a distinctive role as a knowledgeable guide and genteel host to visitors on the Grand Tour. For 18th-century travelers, Naples was a mythic place dominated by the powerful presence of Mount Vesuvius. The volcano and ruins made Naples a different exotic locale.


Rome on the Grand Tour Rome on the Grand Tour
January 8 - August 11, 2002
North Pavilion


Featuring new acquisitions by the Getty Museum and Research Institute, Rome on the Grand Tour presents the cultural center, know as the Eternal City, as a preeminent destination for the British aristocrat. Gathering together paintings, pastels, drawings, sculpture, artists' sketchbooks, antiquities, books, and souvenir prints, this exhibition captures the diversity of the Grand Tour experience and portrays the preparation, engagement, and memory intrinsic to the journey.


Drawing Italy in the Age of the Grand Tour Drawing Italy in the Age of the Grand Tour
February 5 - May 12, 2002
East Pavilion


Throughout the 1700s travelers flocked to the Italian provinces in search of inspiration, enlightenment, discovery and adventure. Aristocratic visitors and connoisseurs encouraged the production of landscapes and cityscapes, visual records and souvenirs of the sites encountered on their travels. Ancestors of the modern-day postcard, vedute, or expansive views, were vehicles for the artist's creative and illusionistic vision of nature and architecture. The visitor is guided through the vast and varied territories of Italy, from a Venetian backstreet by Giovanni Antonio Canal, and a theatrical performance by Francesco Guardi, to an imaginary antique port by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.



J.Paul Getty Trust © 2001 J. Paul Getty Trust
Terms of Use
/ Privacy Policy