ARTiculation Day

On Wednesday, the Year 12 art students had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the annual ARTiculation trip, a highlight in the Art department’s calendar for several years. It is a day to learn about stunning artefacts from part of the private Royal Collection  - an amazing chance to see pieces unseen by the public. 

On what felt like one of the coldest yet brightest days of the year so far, we travelled to beautiful Windsor. Our destination: the castle. We were there to see the private Royal Collection, located in the private library and apartments. In small groups consisting of students from different schools, we were shown three different sets of pieces from the collection by the curators. 

In the impressive and ethereal library, we were shown the Nuremberg Chronicle - a vast book commissioned to be written by Hartmann Schedel. Published in the late 15th century, it recounts the entire history of the world as well as mediaeval fears about the impending end of the world; it is also the most extensively illustrated book of its time, with many detailed prints. We also had the chance to flick through the pages ourselves, feeling like we were stepping back in time. This feeling was intensified by the fact that while we were doing this we were standing by a fireplace where Elizabeth I would stand on a cold day. 

We also saw prints made by the German artist Albrecht Durer, who was the most famous in Europe in the 16th century; he was especially renowned for his detailed woodcut prints. Finally, we were shown a photograph taken by Herbert Ponting, the photographer who travelled with Captain Scott and his crew on his race to claim the South Pole in 1911. As many will know, Scott sadly failed in his mission and tragically, along with other members of the expedition, died on the return journey. 

After being able to study the artefacts up close and ask the passionate curators any further questions about their wider context, we then wrote and planned a short presentation about our assigned artefact. After rehearsing our presentations, we performed them for everyone - a fantastic opportunity to improve our public speaking skills. 

The ARTiculation day was a wonderful experience and the six Year 12 artists are very grateful to our teachers for organising this, and to the people working at Windsor Castle who made the day happen for us. Olivia, Year 12, said that in particular ‘getting to flick through the pages of the original Nuremberg Chronicle was incredible’ and that ‘the private apartments were so magnificent’. We all agree!