Spectator Sport - The Art Capitals of Europe

Whether one is a potential buyer, a cultured aficionado, or a passionate spectator, the cultural hotbeds of Europe are essential stops for art enthusiasts. From the classical wonders of ancient Rome to the cutting-edge scene in über-modern Berlin, these bastions of the art world are as relevant today as they were centuries ago. While visitors form long lines around the Vatican for a glimpse of precious antiquities, collectors wait with paddles ready to bid on multi-million dollar masterpieces at Christie’s in London. Meanwhile a budding sculptor becomes an overnight sensation at a small but relevant Berlin gallery. Thrilling and thriving, Europe’s art scene beckons your patronage. To help steer your itinerary, we suggest a few fashionable options for stay and play in our favorite art capitals.

That the mere mention of London can simultaneously conjure images of an ancient monarchy and swinging ‘60s psychedelia says so much about this city. London is both of these things and more, marked as it is by both intense pride in its traditions and a cultural willingness to push the envelope and explore the avant-garde. Our suggestions for your stay in London invite you to partake in the city’s wonderfully egalitarian aim of bringing art and culture into the lives of all, so pack your walking shoes and prepare yourself for a dynamic juxtaposition of the old and the new.

     Living Art: Claridge’s Hotel

Within easy reach of Hyde Park and Bond Street, Claridge’s has been a favorite destination of such varied icons as Spencer Tracy, Marc Jacobs and countless visiting dignitaries since the mid-1800s. With its palatial foyer and overall grandness, many proclaim it to be London’s greatest hotel. Basil Ionides redecorated portions of the interior in the mid-1920s to reflect the era’s popular art deco style, and in 1996, New York-based designer Thierry Despont revitalized the foyer, once again in an art deco style, with such key stylistic additions as a centrally located Dale Chihuly chandelier. Dining amenities include Claridge’s award winning afternoon tea (which was voted “Best Afternoon Tea” by the Tea Guild in 2006), as well as the elegant art deco Reading Room for all-day dining, Claridge’s famous Bar and the “Fumoir” – a sumptuously designed aubergine and leather-clad space for a more romantic cocktail hour. Claridge’s Beauty and Fitness center on the 6th floor provides views across the rooftops of London, while the hotel’s Continental Flying Spur by Bentley is prepared to motor you around the city and beyond. claridges.co.uk

The Frieze Art Fair is held every October in Regent’s Park, and for three exciting days features over 150 contemporary art galleries from around the world. Also included are specially commissioned artist projects, a prestigious talks program that has included presentations by such notables as Yoko Ono, children’s workshops and an artist-led education schedule. Another highlight of every fair is the opportunity to view the work of that year’s Cartier Award recipient. The Cartier Award is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading art awards, and provides an emerging artist from outside the U.K. an opportunity to realize a major project at the fair as part of the Frieze Projects Programme, curated by Neville Wakefield. This year’s fair will be held October 15-18, and tickets go on sale in June (for purchase via the web or at the fair), and its stunning natural setting prevents it from feeling like a trade show. Restaurants and cafés also provide refreshment at the event.

Do note that if your travel plans to London are not scheduled in October, the Frieze Foundation is still an excellent resource if you are looking to buy. The Frieze Art Fair Yearbook is published annually and is a comprehensive guide to contemporary art. The Foundation also publishes Frieze Magazine eight times annually, a leading art magazine that includes essays, reviews and columns by today’s leading artists, writers and curators. The Frieze Foundation is a non-profit organization that is funded by the European Commission and Arts Council England. Visit their Web site for a comprehensive exhibitor list that is yet another excellent resource if you are looking to buy art throughout the year. friezeartfair.com

The National Gallery houses one of the greatest collections of Western European painting in the entire world. Highlights of the museum’s collection include Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Sandro Botticelli’s Venus and Mars, Paul Cezanne’s Bathers and Jan Van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait. Other artists whose work can be found in the Gallery include Rembrandt, Titian and Leonardo da Vinci. In April of 1824, the House of Commons agreed to pay 57,000 pounds for the picture collection of banker John Julius Angerstain, with the intention of it serving as the core around which a national collection would be built. Standing at the crossroads of London, its location was chosen to be accessible to both the wealthy who were traveling in their carriages from the west of the city and the poor who were journeying from the east end on foot. Stand in front of the National Gallery’s grand, neo-classical façade, and you’ll agree – it is difficult not to feel you are about to encounter greatness. nationalgallery.org.uk

Since the cultural explosion of the Weimar Republic Years in the 1920s (the subsequent darkness of the Nazi era notwithstanding), Berlin has been world famous as a place where a pervasive curiosity and intellectualism promote an intensely progressive approach to the arts. Berlin is a city where the vestiges of World War II (i.e. the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church) and communism (a now defunct Berlin Wall) coexist with centuries-old neo-classical state buildings and ultra-modern shopping plazas and hotels. Welcome to a city that constantly strives to move forward while integrating elements of its past in new and innovative ways.

Hotel Q!, located on Knesebeckstrasse in Charlottenburg, presents visitors with scenery that seems to float while also pulsating with life. The lobby and bar areas in this uber-hip, “mod” design hotel are warmed by sexy shades of cherry, vanilla and walnut, while its walls and counters are softened by rounded corners. In a city as bustling as Berlin, an environment like this is a real gem because its focus is your relaxation. Seventy-two private rooms are awash in the serenity of white and feature plasma flatscreen TVs for your entertainment. Stay in one of the u-shaped studio rooms and you will find a soaking tub and Korres toiletries alongside your plush queen-size bed. The “Wellness” area in the hotel’s basement features all of the usual spa amenities, as well as a “chillout” room complete with sand that is warmed beneath your feet, soothing lighting and customized sound effects. Freshly prepared Thai dishes are served in the red linoleum and chrome lounge bar that is oftentimes frequented by the socialite crowd. lonelyplanet.com

In existence since 1994, Arndt & Partner was among the first galleries to establish itself in “Berlin Mitte” (central Berlin) after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is an area of the city in which artists from the East and West decided to relocate in an effort to bridge the gap that had divided them. In September of 2001, the gallery settled in its current two-story location on Zimmerstrasse, which is close to the historic and now inoperative Checkpoint Charlie. The gallery features works by an international array of contemporary artists that includes Adam Adach, Julian Rosefeldt, Nedko Solakov, Hiroshi Sugito and Keith Tyson. Large-scale, complex museum- like installations can be found on the second floor, while its Film Lounge and Private Viewing Room shows projects by emerging video artists. A regular participant in such international art fairs as The Armory Show in New York and the Frieze Art Fair in London, the gallery also sponsors thematic group exhibitions. Since its inception, Arndt & Partner has “emphasized a program free of trends or formal standards.” arndt-partner.de

     Viewing Art: Berlin

Although the Pergamon Museum is an excellent choice for viewing the art of the ancient world, the Hamburger Bahnhof is a fantastic choice for taking in modern works that so clearly convey the spirit of Berlin. Located in a former railway station since 1996, it houses a collection of paintings, sculptures, graphics, photography, videos, multimedia works and light installations from the collections of the National Gallery of The National Museums of Berlin, the Erich Marx Collection and the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection. The high ceilings of both the historic building and modern extensions feature geometrical lines and a glass roof that provide an open, airy feel to the space.

Here you can view works by groundbreaking modern artists such as Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg and Jeff Koons. Its 10,000 square meters of space are focused on the art of the second half of the 20th century and beyond, while the entire ground floor is dedicated to the artist Joseph Beuys. Included here are 450 of his drawings, as well as his installation Richtkrafte (Directional Forces, 1974-1977) that was created using 100 wooden blackboards. The Hamburger Bahnhof avoids a historical presentation of its works, instead focusing on “an open presentation concept that embraces all of the media used by the various artists.” hamburgerbahnhof.de

                Ah, Roma. Perhaps nowhere else in Western Europe is the juxtaposition of the ancient and modern so breathtakingly cinematic, with such dramatic structures as the Coliseum and the Arch of Constantine serving as backdrops for a constant rush of traffic and activity. Here is a city in which a sense of the past and that uniquely Roman manner of seizing the day continually swirl around the visitor, with an energy that is at once frenetic and languid in that quintessentially Italian way.

Located on the Via Veneto near the Spanish Steps, one of the city’s most prominent streets and a key location in Federico Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita, this luxurious hotel was built in the early part of the 20th century and has long catered to international diplomats visiting nearby embassies. With its rococo details, crystal chandeliers, palm trees and paintings, it conveys a decidedly old world opulence. Among the numerous modern creature comforts it provides is the renowned La Terrazza restaurant, which serves gourmet cuisine and opens out onto a terrace that overlooks the Via Veneto. ambasciatoripalace.com

This esteemed auction house offers private individuals, institutions and private bodies such as banks and businesses an opportunity to sell and purchase at auction with the benefit of guaranteed assistance for inventories, evaluations, transportation and an expert commercial sales organization with expertise in advertising and public relations nationwide and in Europe. Here you will find works that are curated by a staff of experts in fields as diverse as earthenware, antique furniture, ancient books, 19^th century paintings, silverware, modern and contemporary art, musical instruments, carpets, Chinese and Far Eastern art, archeology and military artifacts.

Noteworthy sales at Casa d’Aste Babuino have included the Shaft of the Castle of Jupiter of the Marquis D’Acquarone and the furnishings of Cimino Cinearredamenti at Cinecittà Film Studios in Rome. Monthly auctions are held from September to July every year, with the most recent one featuring a glass sculpture from the Forge of the Angels in Venice. Casa d’Aste Babuino is situated on the corner of Via del Babuino, the famed antique dealers’ street in Rome. It is also the most centrally located auction house in Rome, with a collection that has the additional emphasis of antique furnishings from large villas, noble palaces and castles. astebabuino.it

Located in Rome’s historic center, the Capitoline Museums house the oldest public collection of art in the world. Founded in 1471 when Sisto IV decided to open the first museum of modern history, it is articulated in three palatial structures that surround the public square of the Capitole on the smallest of Rome’s seven hills. Its treasures include works from the 14th to 17th centuries by such artists as Caravaggio and Titian, as well as sculptures like the Capitoline She-Wolf (symbol of Rome) and the Spinario, a Greek figure dating back to the fifth century B.C. of a young boy examining his foot.

                Here one is privy to an unrivaled collection of busts, heads and figures depicting a long line of emperors, popes and gods, as well as a collection of Etruscan, Greek and Italic vases. In the museum’s Cini Gallery, one can view an impressive array of porcelains as well as a series of frescoes that narrate the legends of the city. The covered garden features bronzes of Hercules, Constantine and Marcus Aurelius, the latter depicting the benevolent emperor atop a horse. From the Terrace of the Tabularium one can view the Forum, while the Caffe Capitolino dining area affords one enchanting views of the entire city. museicapitolini.org