London National Gallery
London’s National Gallery is London’s main art gallery, located in Trafalgar Square. There are four wings, which is very convenient for visitors: exhibits created from 1260 to 1510 are displayed in the Sainsbury Wing, from 1510 to 1600. – in the West Wing, from 1600 to 1700. – in the North Wing, from 1700. – in the East Wing.
Sainsbury Wing
Room 51 displays Leonardo da Vinci’s famous drawing of St. Anne with Mary, the Christ Child and John the Baptist. Room 53 contains the Wilton Diptych, in which angels in blue robes and with wings like those of a seagull circle around Our Lady and Child. In Hall 56 is Jan van Eyck’s painting “The Arnolfini Cheta”. In Room 58 you can see the painting “Venus and Mars” by Botticelli. A tiny painting of Raphael’s “Madonna of Ancidea” is exhibited in Room 60; Hieronymus Bosch is represented in Room 62 by his painting “The Mocking of Christ”, which is strikingly cruel in its faces. Hall 66 exhibits an unfinished work by Piero della Francesca (ca. 1420-1492), “The Nativity,” in which a choir of angels sings hymns to the beautiful Mary with an almond-shaped oval face.
.West Wing
Room 7 displays El Greco’s painting “Suffering at Gethsy” on a gospel story. In Room 8 you can see Michelangelo’s unfinished work “Position in the Coffin”, which depicts a dead pale Christ supported by canvas ribbons. In Room 9 are several paintings by Titian, including The Death of Actaeon. This is a late work, painted during a period when Titian’s eyesight deteriorated and painting became a little different. There you’ll also see Veronese’s “Allegory of Love”, a beautiful portrait of Vincenzo Morosini by Tintoretto. In Room 12 you’ll see Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s “Adoration of the Magi”, depicting three kings exhausted after a long journey, and Marinus van Reimerswal’s “Tax Collectors.”
.North Wing
Jan Vermeer is represented in Room 16, and Frans Hale in Room 23. Room 27 contains several paintings by Rembrandt. One shows his wife Saskia at the age of 24, full of life, radiating warmth. The other is a beautiful, lovingly executed portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels, who, after Saskia’s death, was a servant in Rembrandt’s family and later became his lover.
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In Room 28, Rubens’ painting Samson and Dolila is on display. In Room 29 you can see Diego Velázquez’s (1599- 1660) masterpiece “Venus with a Mirror” and admire the soft tones and lines of her body.
.East Wing
Room 34 is a collection of treasures: works by William Turner (1775-1851) include the early painting Dutch Boats in a Storm, the later The Last Voyage of the Frigate Daring, and the strikingly colorful phantasmagoria Rain, Steam and Speed. There are also superb landscapes by John Constable (1776-1837), including “View of Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows” and “The Mill at Stretford”. There is also the famous ‘Hay Cart’, striking in its abundance of detail.
Room 38 exhibits Canaletto’s views of Venice. Room 39 has several somber portraits by Goya, including a portrait of the Duke of Wellington.
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Room 43 is given over to the Impressionists: Degas, Manet, Pissarro. Monet’s “Bathing at La Grenouillere” and Monet’s misty “The Thames Beyond Westminster” are also on display here.
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Room 44 exhibits Renoir’s “Umbrellas”, in blue tones, and Georges Seurat’s (1859-1891) sketch painting “Bathing at Agnières”, depicting boys diving into the calm waters of the Seine.
.Hall 45 features sun-drenched landscapes by Cézanne and his “Bathers,” and a long, narrow canvas by Gauguin from the Tahitian period, “Faa Teche.”
There are also several works by Van Gogh. Several works by Van Gogh are also here, including “Wheat Field with Cypresses,” painted at the St. Remy Hospital, and one of four canvases, “Sunflowers.”www.national-gallery.org.uk.Tel: 020-7747 2885Daily from 10.00am to 6.00pm, Fridays from 10.00am to 9.00pm.Admission is free, but there is a separate charge for exhibitionsNearest tube stations are Charing Cross, Leicester Square
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