Early November is always eagerly anticipated by second year carvers and conservators ; the annual study trip to Venice is one of the highlights of the course. We get to stay on the beautiful island of San Giorgio Maggiore, just across the lagoon from St Mark’s Square and the Doge’s Palace. San Giorgio is the home of the Cini Foundation, an educational and cultural institute located within the old Benedictine monastery there, and the site of our accommodation.
The island of San Giorgio Maggiore, seen from St.Mark’s Square, and home of the Cini Institute, where we stay
The trip is an intensive 5 days of visits to the churches and monuments of the city, prefaced by an hour of lectures each morning, and accompanied by tutors who lead guided walking tours around the main sites, as well as seeking out the lesser known cultural gems that are off the tourist trail. It’s the perfect location for our purposes, with a wealth of stone and wood carving of all periods to see, as well as a myriad of conservation problems, given the extraordinary location of the city.
A group shot below the famous Colleen Statue by Verocchio
Every year there are new things to discover. As well as the Venice Biennale of contemporary art, this year there was also the huge Damien Hirst exhibition, itself featuring many highly crafted pieces in all kinds of precious materials. However you value Hirst’s work, the quality of the craftsmanship and the technical brilliance of many of the pieces was striking. Another highlight of the trip was a transport strike on the day we were due to leave. This necessitated a return to the airport by water taxi, rather than the public bus we normally take through the mainland suburbs – a really memorable way to leave the city!
Art Histories tutor Sue Jenkins discussing the Carpaccio paintings in the Scuola San Giorgio
Woodcarving Tutor Peter Thuring discovering something new in San Pietro Martire on the island of Murano
Some bling dredged up by Damien Hirst from the wreck of the Unbelievable