On arrival at the National Gallery in London, an incredible building
in itself with its famous columns and steps, I was offered the opportunity to
hire an audio guide for the duration of my visit. The audio guide,
incidentally, is well worth getting. For just £3.50 (£2.50 for concessions) you
are given commentary on most of the sights that the National Gallery has to
offer. This was, for me, well worth the money since the admission is free in
the first place. The guide came with a leaflet taking you through a 60-minute
quick tour of the highlights of the gallery’s exhibits. This leaflet, however,
I would ignore entirely.
Well perhaps ‘entirely’ is unfair. It certainly tells you
where to find the works of the biggest names and the paintings which we have
all seen in countless reproductions. If these famous ‘masterpieces’ are what
interest you then the leaflet gives you a great route through the gallery.
The Caravaggio on display, The Supper at Emmaus, is as technically brilliant as all of his
works, but as the daughter of a seasoned Caravaggio enthusiast I have seen his
works exhibited all over the world, and I think it is safe to say that the
National Gallery does not possess one of his greatest.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio: 'The Supper at Emmaus'
It is of course amazing to see such iconic works as Van Gogh’s
Sunflowers in their original form;
they almost always surpass expectations. I am not personally a huge fan of Van
Gogh in general and it certainly wasn’t his sunflowers which caught my gaze.
Instead I was much more attracted to his still life of Two Crabs whose orange shells set against a brilliant blue-green
background really appealed to me. It seemed to display much more technical
skilled than his other works.
Vincent van Gogh: 'Two Crabs'
Of all the ‘big names’ on display
though, it was Rousseau’s Surprised! which
really blew me away. The famous tiger in the jungle is so much bigger than I
have ever imagined and therefore much more impressive. The lashing rain and the
tropical storm in the background are much more obvious in the original and
really add an extra dimension to the painting.
Henri Rousseau: 'Surprised!'
For me though, part of the beauty of wandering around an art
gallery is the waiting for something to catch your eye and to surprise you. It
was the pictures I’ve never seen before, by artists I’ve never heard of which I
found the most exciting. If you let yourself wander out of the main network of
rooms and inter the smaller corners of the gallery you will find the small
closet-like spaces in which hang just 4 or 5 paintings. Tucked away in these
corners you’ll find some real treasures and the peace and quiet to really enjoy
them.
Shown below are just a few of my personal highlights of the
National Gallery and are in my opinion well worth a visit. Most of them also
have an audio guide entry which will explain the painting and the artists in
more detail than the paper plaques next to the pieces themselves.
Théo van Rysselberghe: 'Coastal Scene'
Francisco de Zurbarán: 'Saint Margaret of Antioch'
John Constable: 'Cenotaph to the Memory of Sir Joshua Reynolds'
Camille Pissarro: 'The Louvre under Snow'
