Art History Tours
Additionally, Michael has developed a new Painting Trip in Siena and Tuscany. This journey through the Italian countryside will inspire travelers to experience the region like never before. Encountering Tuscany as both tourists and artists, they will take in its many enchanted vistas as inspiration for their own drawings and paintings, which they will carry out with advice and consultation from Michael himself. Locally-guided tours through Siena and several day trips from the group's Tuscan villa will provide the subject matter for these pieces, as well as for Michael's evening "lecturettes" that weave his art history expertise into travelers' experiences of these magical locations. For more information on this and other trips, see the descriptions and links to sample itineraries below.
International Art Tours and Painting Trips
Michael Stehr’s art history tours are experiences unlike any other. His enthusiastic presentation style and incredible passion foster an energy and freshness that is unmatched by any commercial tour company. As an artist himself, Michael is able to provide in-depth technical insight when analyzing such pieces as Monet’s Water Lilies or the ceiling frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. His personal artistic expertise, coupled with his desire to mirror for his clients the same spiritual responses he feels in the presence of these works of art, gives travelers the opportunity to experience art in a distinctly personal, intimate way. His tours are truly unique travel experiences that will forever change how participants interact with and experience all the art in their world, at home and abroad.
Tour Offerings
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Art History and Food Tour of Rome and Tivoli
Marvel at the stunning artistic and architectural achievements of Michelangelo, the Reformation, the Counter Reformation, and the age of the Baroque, rivaled only by the richness of Roman culinary tradition.
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Paris, Giverny, and Chartres
Trace the development of Gothic architecture and the journey toward modern painting, from the polished classicism of David and Ingres to the impressionists and the passion-filled canvases of Vincent Van Gogh, and enjoy a dining itinerary carefully crafted by our culinary guide.
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Painting Trip to Siena and Tuscany
Encounter Italy’s rustic pastoral beauty as travelers and artists while living in a Tuscan villa and exploring local foods prepared by culinary guide Emily Stehr.
Introducing Culinary Guide Emily Stehr
Emily officially joined the Sistine Chapel Art History Tour team in 2021. She brings her experience as an avid self-taught cook, organic farmer, and passionate student of the cuisines of Argentina, Ecuador, and the many food cultures represented in the United States. As a student at Dartmouth College, Emily studied Sociology and Native American two disciplines which honed her ability to analyze the social, political, historical, and ecological contexts that inform each stage of the food system from farm to fork. She shares her rigorous study of Italian culinary history with clients on Michael’s tours of Rome and Tivoli, where she carefully selects each dining experience and offers insight throughout each meal. While she has yet to guide in-person on the trip to Paris, she has hand-picked each restaurant on the itinerary, conducting meticulous research to ensure diversity and depth in clients’ encounters with French cuisine.
