Above: The National Gallery
For our previous destination, we talked about Tate Modern: its history, its collections, and its great ambient view of the London skyline at night.
Art is one the many facets of London that perennially keeps the city included in the travel and tour plan of many tourists.
Today we will showcase one of the most visited painting galleries of the world, London’s National Gallery. Don’t miss out!
#8 National Gallery
London’s National Gallery (pictured above; taken from the Trafalgar Square) displays a great collection of Western European paintings that date back from around 1250 to the early 1900’s. The gallery includes work done by world renowned artists such as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Turner, Renoir, Cezanne and Van Gogh.
The gallery was founded in 1824.
It all began that same year when the British government bought a total of 36 paintings from the banker John Julius Angerstein, a London merchant and underwriter for Lloyd’s of London, who had died the previous year. These paintings formed the nucleus of what was soon to become London’s National Gallery.
After that original purchase, the gallery has grown mainly from the acquisitions of its early directors – one of which is Sir Charles Lock Eastlake (himself an English painter) who was appointed the gallery’s first Keeper in 1843. Soon the gallery grew through private donations - which comprised approximately two thirds of the collection.
Although the resulting collection is considerably small compared with the national galleries of continental Europe, the gallery boasts of a high concentration of important works. Their paintings are some of the most famous worldwide, spanning a wide historical timeline – from the Early Renaissance to Post-impressionism. This is what draws tourists from all over the world to come and visit the collection.
These masterpieces have been numbered at a total of 2,300 paintings.
What’s best is that the gallery belongs to the British public, making the entrance to the main collection free of charge. They would only ask for a small entry fee if you want to visit their special exhibitions.
The present location of the National Gallery, found on the north side of Trafalgar Square, is actually already the third building to house the collection. The façade is the only thing remaining from the original architecture done by William Wilkins, who completed the structure in 1838. The image below is a great picture of the façade of the National Gallery illuminated at night.
Below: National Gallery in the night
The building as a whole has been altered and expanded bit by bit throughout the history of the gallery. Some of the additions were made by famous architects such as 19th century English architect Edward Middleton Barry – who did the dome of the building; and famous award winning American architect Robert Venturi who did the Sainsbury Wing (pictured below).
Above: The Sainsbury WIng
The National Gallery is considered as one of the world’s largest and richest painting galleries. The best way to enjoy this once in a lifetime experience is to do it chronologically (as the collection is being displayed in a continuous timeline) – starting from the Sainsbury Wing and its mid 13th century pieces, you can walk towards the west and pass the West Wing’s Renaissance pieces dating between 1510 to the early 1600’s; (pictured below is “Venus and Mars” by famous Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli and “Virgin of the Rocks,” the second of two almost identical paintings made by none other than the Renaissance Man himself, Leonardo da Vinci – in June of 2005, it was discovered thru infrared that this painting had a pentimento, or an alternate painting underneath – try and look for it when you go visit!) then as you continue towards the North Wing, you will see the Rubens, Rembrandts and Murillos that dates to the early 1700’s;
Below: Venus And Mars, by Sandro Botticelli
you end your trip to the past in the East Wing, where the Gainsborough, Constable, Turner, Hogarth and Van Gogh and the Impressionists pieces are being displayed.
The London National Gallery is found in Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN with telephone number +44 (0)20 7747 2885. you can reach the gallery through the Covent Garden Tube or by road using this map (don’t worry, everybody knows where Trafalgar Square is):
Above: Map for guide to National Galerry
