National Gallery in London (National Gallery). National Gallery of London - paintings

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

From time immemorial, world painting has been highly valued by art historians and collectors, and also arouses the constant delight of ordinary, in essence, people who are far from art. Agree that it is impossible to pass by the canvases painted by the brushes of the titans of the Renaissance or the Impressionists. Even the controversial creations of artists of the twentieth century do not leave indifferent connoisseurs of beauty.

Most of these works are exhibited in art galleries and museums scattered around the globe. One of the most famous is the National Gallery in London, whose building is located in the very center of the city, on Trafalgar Square. Today, almost 2.5 thousand paintings by artists of Western Europe, created over 7 centuries of world history - from the 13th to the 20th centuries, are stored in its funds, and the exhibition halls present almost 2.5 thousand. Currently, the London Gallery is one of the finest art collections in the world.

About the history of the gallery

At the beginning of the 19th century, three main museums were opened in Great Britain, from which the National Gallery in London was subsequently founded: the British Museum, created in 1753, Dulwicha gallery in Dulwich College, operating since 1814 and exhibiting paintings of the 17th-18th centuries, the Royal Academy, functioning since 1768 as an educational institution and an exhibition hall, which did not have its own funds with significant works of art.

It became necessary to create a national collection of works of art, and in 1824 the necessary amount was allocated, which was spent on the organization of the museum and the purchase of a collection of 38 paintings by J. J. Angerstein. From that moment on, the National Gallery began its existence, the location of which was the Angerstein mansion, located on Pall Mall Street. The new museum existed, developed and replenished its funds thanks to purchases and donations from both organizations and ordinary art connoisseurs.

In the course of four years, from 1834 to 1838, a neoclassical building was built, the architect of which was William Wilkins. It was erected in the city center of London. The National Gallery, a photo of the modern building of which can be seen below, has turned into the largest storehouse of paintings by European artists within these walls. But at first this square was shared with the museum by the Royal Academy of Arts, which moved from here in 1869. Gradually, the collection was replenished, and the museum grew, which required new buildings, the last of which was completed in 1991.

The building was not damaged during the First World War, but during the Second World War nine bombs seriously damaged it. Fortunately, everythingthe exhibits were evacuated in advance, and after the end of the war, the National Gallery in London opened to the public.

The entire exhibition is built on the basis of the scientific historical method of display and all paintings are placed in chronological order.

Painting of Italy

Most of the museum's collection is precisely the paintings of Italian artists. This is due to the fact that back in the 19th century, the then director of the gallery acquired paintings in this country.

The collection includes works by Andrea Mantegna, Piero Della Francesca, Fra Filippo Lippi and Masaccio. The funds also contain paintings by Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, several paintings by Rafael Santi, Michelangelo Buonarotti and Leonardo Da Vinci.

16th century painting is represented by works by Tintoretto and Giorgione. And the 17th century is represented by the paintings of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Michelangelo da Caravaggio.

Dutch painting

Among the Dutch artists, the work of Jan van Eyck stands out. The collection also has works by Hans Memling, Hieronymus Bosch, the main theme of which are the events described on the pages of the New Testament of the Bible.

Painting Germany

Among the paintings by German masters held by the National Gallery in London are paintings by 16th-century artists Hans Holbein the Younger, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Albrecht Dürer.

Flemish painting

Flemish paintings date back to the 17th century. These are works by Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens.

One of the masterpieces of the collection is the painting "The Lady at the Harpsichord" by Jan Vermeer of Delft.

Also in the collection are works by Jacob van Ruisdael, Rembrandt Garmens van Rijn and Frans Hals.

Spanish paintings

Painting in Spain is represented by the most famous masters of the 17th century: Diego Velasquez, Francisco de Zurbaran, El Greco. Also in the collection are some works by Francisco Goya and two paintings by Bartolome Esteban Murillo.

Painting of France and England

Paintings by French artists have been on display at the gallery since the 17th century. Here, the works of Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain are especially distinguished.

In addition, the National Gallery in London keeps in its collections paintings by Francois Boucher, Jean-Honore Fragonard, Antoine Watteau, Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, dating back to the 18th century.

The collection of French paintings of the 19th century presented in the museum is rich in exhibits: Eugene Delacroix, Jacques-Louis David, and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres are bright representatives of impressionism.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the collection of paintings by artists working in this direction was replenished with the works of Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro.

The painting "Tiger in a Tropical Storm" by Henri Rousseau, which aroused public interest in primitivism, became a landmark. Paintings by representatives of post-impressionism Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne are also presented here.

The Tate Gallery is the repository for the main collection of English painting. Here arepaintings by William Hogarth, the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, Joshua Reynolds, and landscape painters John Constable, Joseph William Turner.

Next to the National Gallery there is another, no less interesting museum - the National Portrait Gallery. It is impossible to leave London without visiting these two places, one of which presents European paintings, and the second contains more than two thousand portraits of significant figures from both Britain and around the world. Some people think it's the same museum. But this is not so, they are connected only by the word "national" and being in the same place - in the center of London, on Trafalgar Square.