Sister Wendy's Grand Tour by Wendy Beckett
Following the success of Sister Wendy's Odyssey, art connoisseur Sister Wendy Beckett has once again left the seclusion of her country caravan to see beloved works of art at first hand. In this book she tours ten of Europe's cultural centres: Madrid, Florence, Venice, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, St Petersburg, Brussels and Vienna. Retracing the route of many 18th-century travellers, Sister Wendy visits Europe's greatest galleries, museums and churches - such as the Louvre, the Uffizi, Arezzo's Chiesa di San Francesco and the Hermitage - and marvels at the beauty and skill of painters such as Claude, Matisse, Giotto, Raphael, Durer, Van Eyck, Rembrandt, Goya, Miro, Holbein and Turner. Founded on a passionate devotion to art and an eclectic knowledge of mythology, religious history and philosophy, her insights in the Old Masters - and lesser-known painters - reflect too their author's humane vision. Sister Wendy's pilgrimage brings alive European art history and her gift to the reader is one of a blend of knowledge, joy and wit.