Grand Tour

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grand tour. A standard part of the education of the English aristocracy between the Restoration and the outbreak of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars in 1789, though since it could take two or three years, it was extremely expensive and only a few could afford it. It therefore tended to be limited to elder sons. It had several objectives—to broaden the mind, to introduce the tourist to classical civilization, to encourage social grace, to improve the command of languages, to establish useful personal and diplomatic links, and to enable wild oats to be sown at a discreet distance. It was usually undertaken between the ages of 17 and 22, under the supervision as ‘bear-leader’ of a prudent clergyman, if one could be found. The tourist was frequently required to write long letters home reporting progress, and often resorted to copying from guide books to eke out inspiration: a stream of advice, exhortation, and often reproach flowed in the opposite direction. The basic tour was to Paris and on to Rome, though many variations were possible, and Holland, Germany, and the Habsburg dominions were often included. Greece and Spain were much less popular and only a few intrepid souls penetrated to Stockholm, St Petersburg, and the Ottoman empire. Many commentators, such as Smollett, Johnson, and Gibbon, disapproved, arguing that the tour encouraged habits of dissipation and that the noblemen were too young to have much appreciation of what they saw. Others were concerned that tourists might come to admire Roman catholicism, but Anglican clergy were at hand to point out superstition, and bugs and brigandage were sufficiently common to impress most travellers with the delights of home. The English ‘milord’, tutor in tow, was a well-known sight on the continent and was not popular, save among innkeepers, since he was often arrogant and complaining. ‘I find everything here so extremely inferior’, wrote J. C. Villiers from France in 1778, ‘that I glow with pride and rapture when I think that I am an Englishman.’ Some tourists came to grief. George Damer's sexual proclivities got him into a scrape in Rome in which a coachman was killed and money had to be distributed to get him off: Viscount Morpeth caught venereal disease and died at the age of 22. The advent of railways in the early 19th cent. meant that the journeys could be made in a few weeks and the tour did not survive in its traditional form.

J. A. Cannon

Grand Tour. An extensive Continental journey, chiefly through France, the Netherlands, and above all Italy, sometimes in the company of a tutor, to complete the education of an aristocrat or gentleman. The origins of the Grand Tour go back to the 16th century, but its heyday was the 18th century, when it was an almost obligatory part of the tutelage of the sons (or at least eldest sons) of noble families in Britain (similar tours were also undertaken by young men from other countries, but they are associated above all with British travellers). The traveller was usually aged about 17–22 and the tour typically lasted a year or longer. Such tours laid the basis for many art collections among the landed gentry, helping to spread the fashion for Neoclassicism and an enthusiasm for Italian painting. Among the native artists who catered for this demand were Batoni, Canaletto, Panini, and Piranesi, and British artists (such as Gavin Hamilton, William Kent, and Joseph Nollekens) were sometimes able to support themselves while in Italy by working for the dealers and restorers who supplied the tourist clientele, particularly in Rome. There was also a flourishing market in guidebooks (see Richardson). Between 1792 and 1815 the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars virtually ended foreign travel, and although the Grand Tour resumed after this, its golden age was over. By the middle of the 19th century, railways were beginning to open up Europe to middle-class travellers and the Grand Tour was defunct.

Grand Tour. An extensive Continental journey, chiefly through France, the Netherlands, and above all Italy, sometimes in the company of a tutor, to complete the education of an aristocrat or gentleman. The origins of the Grand Tour go back to the 16th century, but its heyday was the 18th century, when it was an almost obligatory part of the tutelage of the sons (or at least eldest sons) of noble families in Britain (similar tours were also undertaken by young men from other countries, but they are associated above all with British travellers). The traveller was usually aged between 17 and 22 and the tour typically lasted a year or longer. Such tours laid the basis for many art collections among the landed gentry, helping to spread the fashion for Neoclassicism and an enthusiasm for Italian painting. Among the native artists who catered for this demand were Batoni, Canaletto, Panini, and Piranesi, and British artists (such as Gavin Hamilton, William Kent, and Joseph Nollekens) were sometimes able to support themselves while in Italy by working for the dealers and restorers who supplied the tourist clientele, particularly in Rome. There was also a flourishing market in guidebooks (see Richardson). Between 1792 and 1815 the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars virtually ended foreign travel, and although the Grand Tour resumed after this, its golden age was over. By the middle of the 19th century, railways were beginning to open up Europe to middle-class travellers and the Grand Tour was defunct.

grand tour A standard part of the education of the English aristocracy between the Restoration and the outbreak of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars in 1789, though since it could take two or three years, it was extremely expensive and only a few could afford it. It therefore tended to be limited to elder sons. It had several objectives—to broaden the mind, to introduce the tourist to classical civilization, to encourage social grace, to improve the command of languages, to establish useful personal and diplomatic links, and to enable wild oats to be sown at a distance. Many commentators, such as Smollett, Johnson, and Gibbon, disapproved, arguing that the tour encouraged habits of dissipation and that the noblemen were too young to have much appreciation of what they saw. The advent of railways in the early 19th cent. meant that the journeys could be made in a few weeks and the tour did not survive in its traditional form.

Grand Tour A leisurely journey through Europe, often lasting several years, made by young Englishmen in the 18th and 19th centuries. The sons of the aristocracy, often accompanied by a tutor, completed their education by enriching their knowledge of classical art and of European society. The eventual destination was Italy, specifically Naples and Rome, where there were well-established colonies of expatriate painters, architects, and connoisseurs. As well as purchasing antique sculpture these patrons bought contemporary Italian paintings, including portraits of themselves, with which to adorn their houses. The wealth of Greek and Roman statuary and Italian drawings and paintings in the country houses and museums of Great Britain are the legacy of the Tour.