Over the October Half Term a group of budding artists (historians included), travelled to Amsterdam, a city of many delights, art included.
The first of these was being treated to a tour of the old city from the comfort of a canal boat, after which we had hoped to see the grandeur of Amsterdam’s sunset-lit Royal Palace, only to be disappointed by a child’s fun-fair blocking the view.
The next morning, we were given time to go and sketch the beautiful Vondelpark, only to be impeded by hordes of MAMILs running the annual marathon through the park.
Later, we visited the home where Anne Frank took refuge, a somber experience. However another individual’s house raised our spirits: Rembrandt. A truly awesome place to see, and where we were able to understand, and dissect his works (ably assisted by audio-guides).
The final museum we visited, to whet our appetites for the Titan that was the Rijksmuseum, was the Van-Gogh museum; a wonderfully curated place. Unfortunately, we have no photographs to back up this claim as photography was unwelcome.
The final day of assimilating the art of Amsterdam art took place in the Rijksmuseum. Standing in the entrance, it seemed we’d bitten off more than we could chew. All 26 of the group scattered for six hours of artistic time travel, and came out the other end blown away; everyone had their stories to tell of artworks they’d discovered, from triptychs to Halo-esque canons (it’s a video game).
To conclude, it was epic. A thank you to the brave teachers that agreed to take us simply wouldn’t do the trip justice… but thanks.
George Elborne (S) and Flora Kilpatrick (D)
