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 The
National Gallery was founded in 1824 when George IV persuaded
the government to purchase 38 major paintings, including works
by Raphael and Rembrandt.
The building, with its Neo-Classical
facade of Portland stone, was designed by William Wilkins
and built in 1834 - 38.
Over the years the collection
grew steadily as benefactors donated works and money, and
today the National Gallery has one of the finest collections
of paintings in the world, over 2,200 western European paintings
from the 13th to the 20th century.
The Sainsbury Wing, to the left
of the main building, was financed by the grocery family and
completed in 1991. This houses a collection of early
Renaissance works and hosts a large number of temporary exhibitions
throughout the year.
The collection is mostly displayed
on one floor, divided into four wings, and arranged in chronological
order and shown in a lavish setting. The earliest works, 1260
- 1510, are housed in the Sainsbury Wing, the North, West
and East Wings house works from 1510 - 1920. Lesser
paintings from all these periods are displayed on the lower
floor.
A good idea is to concentrate
on the most important pictures on the ground floor, with Leonardo
da Vinci's cartoon of 'The Virgin and Child with Saint John
the Baptist and Saint Anne', the 'Arnolfini Marriage' by Jan
van Eyck, 'The Ambassadors' by Hans Holbein, the 'Rokeby Venus'
by Diago Velázquez, 'The Haywain' by John Constable, 'Bathers
at Asnières' by Georges Seurat and 'Sunflowers' by Vincent
van Gogh.
The Micro Gallery in the Sainsbury
Wing contains a computer information centre, you can touch
a screen and see any painting in the collection, print out
a reproduction or produce a custom tour around your favourite
works of art.
Admission free, Charge
for exhibitions
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