The Grand Tour: From "Glorious Sun" to the Common Tourist
- Art d'Histoire
- Feb 23
- 3 min read
For over two centuries, the education of a European gentleman was not considered complete without a long and expensive journey known as The Grand Tour.
Coined in 1697 by Richard Lasserl (attributing the phrase to Lord Grandorne), the term described a rite of passage that could last five or six years. Under the guidance of a tutor and following itineraries mapped out by guidebooks like Thomas Nugent’s The Grand Tour (1749), young aristocrats traveled the continent to "enlighten their understanding." As Lasserl poeticised, the nobleman was expected to return home "like a glorious Sun," having absorbed the fine notions of European culture.
Italian Tropism: Souvenirs of the Elite
While the tour covered nearly fifteen countries, the heart of the journey was always Italy. This "Italian Tropism" drew the elite to Rome, Naples, and Venice to study the Renaissance masters and ancient statuary consecrated by Winckelmann.
But it was not just about study; it was about consumption. The Grand Tour was the golden age of the luxury souvenir. Travelers enriched their collections with portraits painted in Rome by Pompeo Batoni, or they decorated their living rooms with a The Veduta—a scenic view of Venice by Canaletto. For the more adventurous, a painting of an erupting Vesuvius by Pierre-Jacques Volaire was the ultimate trophy of their time in Naples.
The Artists' Tour: The Villa Medici
Parallel to the aristocracy, artists undertook their own pilgrimage. For them, Italy was not a leisure destination but a classroom. Winners of the prestigious Prix de Rome received a state pension to stay for three to five years at the Villa Medici to perfect their training by copying the masters.
This route from Academies to the Prix de Rome was essential for career success.
Artists like David (who won on his third attempt) and Couture followed this path. Others, like Fragonard and Hubert Robert, found a different way, hitching a ride as guides or companions to wealthy travelers. Even those who failed or disregarded the competition, such as Manet or Degas, scraped together the funds to make the journey independently, proving that Italy was indispensable for any serious painter.
The Death of the "Grand Tour" and the Rise of the "Tourist"
By 1850, the era of the aristocratic Grand Tour was fading. The English nobility began to prefer "otium" (leisure) activities like transatlantic yachting or horse racing over the rigors of travel.
Technology also played a role in this decline. The expansion of the rail network made travel easier but less exclusive, while the invention of photography reduced the need to travel to see art. Works like Noël Lerebourg’s Excursions Daguerriennes allowed people to tour the monuments and ruins of Europe from their armchairs.
Ultimately, the "Grand Tour" was replaced by a new, mass phenomenon. Popularized by Stendhal, the Anglicism "tourist" emerged to describe this new breed of traveler—no longer a "glorious Sun" returning with ancient wisdom, but a consumer of sights, rushing through Europe with a railway ticket in hand.
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