For immediate release

Behind the scenes at the Fitzwilliam Museum's five-star COLOUR exhibition

COLOUR: The Art & Science of Illuminated Manuscripts opened at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum last month to rave reviews.

Writing in The Guardian, art critic Jonathan Jones gave the 'sumptuous' blockbuster exhibition five stars, calling the intricate, colourful manuscripts 'expressionist art, as full of emotion as a work by Van Gogh'.

As a Bicentenary Partner of the Museum, ACE Cultural Tours is proud to be supporting the exhibition, and delighted to be able to offer our travellers a special behind the scenes visit during our September tour Cambridge Collections: Celebrating the Fitzwilliam Museum's Bicentenary.

We'll enjoy a special introduction from the exhibition's Curator before heading in to admire the 150 illuminated manuscripts on display, which range from the prayerbooks of European royalty and merchants to an alchemical scroll, and from a duchess's wedding gift to the ABC of a five-year old princess. We'll also meet the conservators whose scientific techniques have revealed the secrets of original masterpieces and modern forgeries, and find out how cutting-edge technologies reveal the images' painting materials, and their meaning and value.

Cambridge Collections: Celebrating the Fitzwilliam Museum's Bicentenary

September 27–30, 2016; £895

This tour will be led by art historian Sarah Burles, who worked at the Fitzwilliam Museum for 12 years. As well as special access to the COLOUR exhibition, we'll enjoy a privileged meeting with Tim Knox, the Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, and explore some of the other famous collections of the Cambridge University museums. Other highlights include the Botanic Garden, originally laid out by Darwin's teacher and mentor, John Henslow, where we visit the Herbarium, not normally open to the public, and the little-known Museum of Classical Archaeology which houses one of the largest collections of classical plaster casts in the world.

More information: http://www.aceculturaltours.co.uk/tours/cambridge-collections-celebrating-fitzwilliam-museum-bicentenary-ccfb-16

Non-residential price: £595 

To book: www.aceculturaltours.co.uk or 01223 841 055

ENDS

Notes for Editors

For more information, images, or a copy of the ACE 2016 brochure please contact Kate Price Thomas on 01223 841055, at kate@aceculturaltours.co.uk or visit www.aceculturaltours.co.uk

ACE Cultural Tours is the UK's most experienced cultural tour operator. With a growing portfolio of over 1000 specially tailored tours for small groups, ACE offers over 180 departures every year. Each tour is led by a Tour Director – both a specialist in their field and a convivial host – and the tour groups regularly enjoy privileged access to private buildings, collections and performers. Owned by the charity the ACE Foundation, all surplus from the tour company is used to fund educational projects in the UK and abroad.

ACE Cultural Tours is a bonded tour operator, holding ATOL licence no 1204 and is also a member of AITO and ABTOT. 

Founded in 1816 the Fitzwilliam Museum is the principal museum of the University of Cambridge and lead partner for the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM) Major Partner Museum programme, funded by The Arts Council. The Fitzwilliam's collections explore world history and art from antiquity to the present day. It houses over half a million objects from ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts, to medieval illuminated manuscripts, masterpiece paintings from the Renaissance to the 21st century, world class prints and drawings, and outstanding collections of coins, Asian arts, ceramics and other applied arts. The Fitzwilliam presents a wide ranging public programme of major exhibitions, events and education activities, and is an internationally recognised institute of learning, research and conservation.

www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk