This mid-17th-century oil painting attributed to Dutch artist Willem Van Bemmel (1630-1708) depicts an Italianate view with prominent ruins, travellers, distant town and mountains. Born in Utrecht, Van Bemmel trained under the distinguished Herman Saftleven (1609-1685) before undertaking a grand tour culminating with an extended stay in Venice and Rome.Travelling to Italy during the mid-17th century was a complex endeavour involving a perilous journey of over 800 miles by carriage. Often funded by the artists’ parents, it was extraordinarily expensive and fraught with danger. Not only were the plucky adventurers the target of various nomadic miscreants, they also had to tackle the ferocity of the Alps. Some never made it, others never returned.Van Bemmel began his tour at just 17 years old, keen to join his Dutch compatriots on their cultural sojourn. Today, one might compare these lengthy study trips to enrolling at University - whereby the learning was paramount but the activ...