The Modern Grand Tour Online Salon
Overview of the Course
The Modern Grand Tour Salon reimagines the spirit of the historic Grand Tour as a contemporary space for intellectual discovery, artistic appreciation, and meaningful exchange. Rooted in the tradition of the European salon — where ideas, creativity, and conversation flourished — the Salon brings together art, history, philosophy, and cultural interpretation in an atmosphere of curiosity and connection.
The word salon beautifully reflects the essence of the Grand Tour: not simply a journey through places, but an exploration of ideas. Like the gatherings of scholars, artists, and thinkers that shaped European cultural life, the Modern Grand Tour Salon invites participants to look beyond objects and destinations, engaging with the stories, meanings, and perspectives that give them lasting significance.
Through guided online sessions, discussion, and interpretation, the Salon offers a journey through the evolving languages of art and culture:
The Antiquity Salon
A voyage into the classical world of Greece and Rome, exploring mythology, philosophy, architecture, and the enduring ideals that shaped Western thought.
The Renaissance Salon
An exploration of humanism, artistic innovation, and the revival of classical knowledge through the masterpieces and ideas of the Renaissance.
The Baroque Salon
A journey through drama, emotion, movement, and grandeur, revealing how Baroque artists transformed art into a powerful experience of faith, politics, and human expression.
The Modern Salon
A reflection on the changing nature of art and culture from modernity to the present, examining new forms of expression, new questions, and new ways of seeing the world.
The Modern Grand Tour Salon is not only a virtual journey through art history, but a living conversation — a place where knowledge is shared, interpretations are explored, and participants become part of an ongoing cultural dialogue.
Participants can also sign up for the city experiences associated with the sessions by clicking here
Duration
12 week online course (One 1 -hour session per week via Zoom including recordings)
Dates
Athens - Online Course: 2, 9, 16 Sept 2026
Rome - Online Course: 28 Oct, 4, 11 Nov 2026
Istanbul - To be confirmed
Florence - Online Course: 28 April, 5, 12 May 2027
Renaissance Rome - Online Course: 1, 8, 15 Sept 2027
Baroque Naples - Online Course: 27 Oct, 3, 10 Nov 2027
Antwerp + Bruges - Online Course: 1, 8, 15 March 2028
Venice - Online Course: 3, 10, 17 May 2028
Madrid - Online Course: 6, 13, 20 Sept 2028
Vienna - Online Course: 25 Oct, 1, 8 Nov 2028
Paris - Online Course: 21, 28 Feb, 7 March 2029
London - Online Course: 23, 30 May, 6 June 2029
Time
Wednesdays - 4.00 - 5.00pm GMT
Fee
€3995 online course
Lecturer’s Biography
Aliki Braine
Aliki Braine (b. 1976, Paris) is an artist and art historian. She studied at The Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford, The Slade School and The Courtauld Institute, London where she was awarded a distinction for her theses on 17th century painting. She has been working for The National Gallery for 25 years and teaches for Christie’s Education, The Wallace Collection, The Arts Society and numerous private clients. Aliki is also a practicing artist who taught at Camberwell College of Art and Westminster University and who regularly exhibits her work internationally.
