Guide to European Art Galleries for Art Groups

Paris is famous its art displays. The Musee de Louvre is on everybody’s list. Francois Mitterand’s glass pyramid entrance is no longer a controversy, now being considered an exhibit in its own right. Operating since 1795 “de Louvre” has an unrivaled collection of antiquity. This is where one must go to see original works of Da Vinci, with the Mona Lisa being among the most famous exhibits. The city of lights also hosts galleries dedicated to Picasso and Monet, named Musee Picasso and Musee Marmottan Claude Monet respictively. Monet lovers will have to visit the Musee de l’orangerie as well. The de l’orangerie is once again open and features many of Monet’s waterline series and other art from the early 1900’s. Picasso and Renoir among others.

For modern urban expressionist art in Paris the place to go is to the American Museum of Art.  A local favorite is the Musee D’ Orsay located in a former train station and displaying impressionist and post impressionist paintings. Rome is a “blue chip” city to visit when touring art galleries on the continent. American historians find the Galleria Borghese and Galleria Collona interesting due to the dates of their origins. Both the Borghese and Collona were being built in the 1600’s with the latter completed in 1704 while the colonies were struggling for their own identity. 

The Spada Gallery features paintings from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with some Roman statues from the second and third centuries. A small gallery, the Spada is an impressive stop with the statue of Pompey in the main Pallazo. The foot of the Pompey of course being the most commonly given location for the murder of Julius Caesar. In typical German fashion, displaying art is taken seriously in Berlin. The most famous and most visited museum is the Pergamon Museum. An antiquity collection, A near East collection and display of Islamic art draw over eight hundred thousand visitors per year.  Any period from Egyptian to modern can be found displayed in Berlin.

The Maurmuseum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie is a small and focused display of Berlin’s most famous checkpoint during the cold war. Recordings, texts, films, and objects are on display with some tied to daring escapes and attempts.  Lectures are given by those with firsthand knowledge to share and a tour for your group can be arranged.

London offers the tour group British art displayed in a depth found nowhere else. Trafalgar Square houses the National Gallery with works from the mid thirteenth century to the early twentieth century. North of Trafalgar Square is the National Portrait Gallery with an unrivaled collection of portraits of significant and historical figures.

The Mall galleries opened in 1971 offer more contemporary works and often display work of up and coming artists. The Tate Modern is another London Gallery that augments the traditional displays with new and existing art. With the quality offerings available, your group should have a memorable experience touring Europe.


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