visiting the National Gallery
On our last two days in London, we really packed in the sights and gallery visits. I wrote about the morning of our second-to-last-day’s visit to the Annette Messager exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, after a ride on the London Eye. After lunch, we walked over to The National Gallery which sits so majestically on the top of the grand Trafalgar Square, shown above with St. Martin in the Fields on the right. This is another free institution though the traveling Picasso exhibition in the Sainsbury wing of course was not.
Our granddaughters and their mother joined a children’s tour they had been signed up for while husband and I went about on our own. It was exciting to recognize many many famous art works from the 13th to the early 20th centuries. I can’t remember all my favourites now though I did at first start to write them down but that took too long! We did not take photos (I think it was not allowed) but the National Gallery’s website has the entire collection online so its great to be able to go back and review the collection. Just a few of our favourites:
Jan Van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait – I adore the North European artists
Leonardo da Vinci’s Sketch for The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne – I love his drawings
Hans Holbein the Younger’s The Ambassadors – some fascinating details in this
Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire – I think one of the first Turners I’ve seen in real life.
The Impressionist Collection is gorgeous as well. I was thrilled in particular to see the Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s Lake Keitele (above). Many years ago when I was researching Finnish art I fell in love with Gallen-Kallela and especially his work inspired by the Kalevala. He became a significant figure in my BFA Honours thesis.
The interiors are gorgeous with rich brilliant colours on the walls in most of the rooms but I was quite shocked to see mud-coloured ones for the impressionists! As is usual with most huge museums, it was a bit confusing navigating the rooms so as not to miss anything. And as usual, looking at a lot of art exhilarates then exhausts me so, sadly, we did not get to the Picasso exhibit.
Oh, and the children, even the three-year-old, loved their tour, a compliment to their excellent guide! We were then rewarded with delicious treats in the cafeteria to restore some energy for the trip home on the tube and bus. The bus trip that late afternoon rush hour was extra slow and long because it was diverted the long way around due to a water main break near home, sigh.
(Next: visiting the Tate Modern)
August 17, 2009 in Art Exhibitions, Other artists, Travel by Marja-Leena
It’s lovely that you found Gallen-Kallela’s work. It is indeed wonderful that the National Gallery collection is available online.
As far as the wall colouring goes, I believe that they are trying to replicate the colours of the walls against which the originals would have been seen. Wall coverings in the days of the Impressionists were very often dull coloured wallpaper or painted with distemper.
Olga, I didn’t know that about the reason for the wall colours, especially the dull colours of distemper paint. The latter was used at one time as an actual painting surface so this surprised me. I still don’t like that colour and don’t understand it’s popularity in that period. White or cream walls would have been better in the National Gallery’s Impressionist rooms if avoiding colour, I think.
Can hardly wait to get to Rome and Paris and see some art!
Hattie, and both cities have an abundance of it! Hope you are giving yourself lots of time to see it all. We were in Rome just two or three days many years ago, not enough though we did see the Vatican Museums and St.Paul’s. I’d love to go back. When are you going?
Although not fond of dull wall colours myself, what I think they contribute to the Impressionist paintings is to show what a shock they must have been in their day. When they are displayed on light neutral walls they are competing for impact in our eyes with Modernist works and beyond. We are in danger of not fully appreciating their attempt to capture the effects of light – and how revolutionary that was at the time. But I agree – we who are used to having our contemporary art shown in light clean clear conditions can find walls painted in cowpat colours rather oppressive!
I’m reminded of the few winter months I spent in Paris back when the Mona Lisa was just another of hundreds of paintings on a wall in the Louvre. I visited that museum every day for nearly a month until the one when I found myself alone with the Michaelangelo ‘Slave’ sculptures in one of the basement galleries.
Olga, good points and I understand. It was just such a shock to me.
Susan, visiting the Louvre every day for a month!? Wow, what commitment on your part and the best way to see it all, how lucky can you get?! Trying to see it in a few hours as we did and with crowds was not as fulfilling. I’ll be writing about that soon.
My best art viewing experience was a week in Florence and knowledgeable friends of a friend who showed us around to the best works, including Michelangelo’s David and several half-finished slaves!
Several of the slaves in the Louvre were half finished. It was as if they were tearing themselves from the marble and that’s what finished me off. They were so beautiful and I understood at last the difference between real genius and someone like me.
Susan, oh yes! I still remember that I had tears in my eyes seeing them. They moved me more than anything else of Michelangelo’s, though I love all his work. I didn’t see the others in the Louvre though, it would have been lovely to revisit them. Ach, makes me want to go back!
I LOVE that Finnish painting. Will go and look at it.
Jean, it really evokes the Finnish lake and landscape for me. It’s actually realistic rather than impressionistic and grouped with the Impressionists and other early 20thC art. I’d love to hear your feelings on seeing it.
I love the National Gallery. It’s one of the places I hang out regularly in London, sometimes just choosing a seat and writing. I like to sit by the Caravaggios and try to borrow some of his fearlessness (or perhaps it’s really recklessness). I love government support of museums, so you can just drop by for a little pick-me-up rather than have to go “do” the museum for a whole day and anxiously try to pack everything in.
Kate, I envy that you spend so much time in London. It really is wonderful that so many museums are free and if I had the time I’d probably do the same as you. It really is hard to absorb too many art works at once.