6 picturesque places where to draw inspiration.

Barbizon, Ile-de-France, France

Purpose:See your own eyes where the painters Jean-Francois Millet and Theodore Rousseau lived and worked — artists Barbizon School, the predecessors of the Impressionists. To understand why Camille Corot was so eager for this open air. To catch that special light of Barbizon, which, being transferred to the canvas, gave the charm even to the simplest motives. Wander through the forest of Fontainebleau, where the masters of the realistic landscape literally re-discovered for themselves and the spectators the nature of rural France with vast oaks and figured rocks. Visits deserve at least two museums: the Millet House and the Barbizon School Museum.

Bonuses:Barbizon is 20 - 30 minutes from Fontainebleau, where the famous palace complex is located the Renaissance. Fontainebleau — The main city of France for fans and professionals of equestrian sport. Beginners can master the skill of riding, and those who already know how to stay in the saddle will be offered horse walks in the picturesque surroundings.

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Venice, Italy

Aim:Check how much the city landscape has changed since the 18th century, when the most significant artists in the genre were working in Venice (creating a detailed everyday urban landscape typical for London and St. Petersburg, but most of all, mdash; for Venice), such as Antonio Canal (Canaletto) and Francesco Guardi. The streets and facades of the Italian city have undergone major changes since then, but the colors of the sunset reflected in the waters of the canals and the Adriatic Sea have remained the same. Without leaving the city, you can see the work of well-known masters, — a large collection is stored in the Academy Gallery, standing on the bank of the Grand Canal, the view of which was a favorite subject of the masters.

Bonuses:Venice — one of the most romantic cities on the planet, and that says it all. And travelers can get acquainted with the ancient technologies of making Venetian lace and Venetian glass in thematic museums.

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Giverny, Upper Normandy, France

Goal:Look at the place where Impressionism originated as a direction of art. Visit the house where Claude Monet spent the last 30 years of his life. Walk along the paths of the beautiful, in places, pedantically neat, sometimes deliberately neglected garden, broken by the artist himself. Somewhere here were written the famous canvases depicting ponds with lilies, pink arches and poppy fields. The area retained its beauty, the pond had to be digged again, and the house was restored to the generous donations of art lovers and opened to visitors in 1980. Cost of admission tickets — less than 10 euros.

Bonuses:Giverny is only 80 km from Paris, so those who came to relax and have fun in the City of Love can visit the gardens of Claude Monet. At the same time on the eve of the trip you can look at the work of Monet in the museums of Paris.

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Tahiti Island, French Polynesia

Bonuses:Tahiti Island — a place with excellent beaches and a wide choice of accompanying entertainment: from fishing to diving, because the underwater world of the coast is colorful and diverse. So, having come to see the places where the great painter created, you will also acquire a chocolate tan and buy ornaments from seashells.

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Arles, Provence, France

< p>Goal:Visit the city where there were two events known to any schoolchild in the life of Vincent Van Gogh — in Arles was painted a picture of "Sunflowers & raquo ;, and there the artist cut off his ear. The period of life in Arles was the most fruitful in the life of Van Gogh. It has about 300 works of different value. Van Gogh claimed that the nature of Arles changed his perception of color, and the spring flowering of almonds in 1888 literally awakened him from hibernation. Caution: there is not a single Van Gogh script in Arles. To see the work of the artist, you will have to go to another place.

Bonuses:Arles attracts not only art lovers, but also those who are interested in history and archeology. Even when the cold mistral is blowing and there is not a white-pink blossom of almond trees or azure sky, the ruins of ancient Aralat will await you.

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Rome, Italy

Aim:To penetrate the atmosphere of the Eternal City, always attracting people of art. Since the middle of the 19th century, the Imperial Academy of Arts has sent gifted young artists there, and not in vain! Here, Russian artists found the southern light, which could not boast of either northern St. Petersburg or Moscow located in temperate latitudes, as well as picturesque models from which it was possible to write gods, heroes, mythological and historical figures. Karl Bryullov created in Rome "The Last Day of Pompeii", and Alexander Ivanov 20 years worked here on the monumental "The Apparition of Christ to the people". Russian painters and writers gathered in the Roman cafe "Greco", which still exists today.

Bonuses:The Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Villa Borghese and all the other attractions of Rome are at your disposal. And if the cultural holiday wearies you, pay tribute to the capital's shops and Italian cuisine.

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