Get us in your inbox

Search

National Gallery

  • Art
  • Trafalgar Square
  • price 0 of 4
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Advertising

Time Out says

5 out of 5 stars

First-class art for every class of art lover

Established in 1824 as a new art collection for the enjoyment and education of all, the National Gallery first consisted of 38 pictures, put on display at a house on Pall Mall while a purpose-built gallery was constructed. There are now over 2,300 works of art, from medieval classics to world-famous pieces by the French Impressionists. The new museum opened in 1838, located in Trafalgar Square because it was deemed to be at the heart of London – easy for rich people to visit from the west by carriage and also convenient for poor people coming by foot from east London.

Free to visit, the National Gallery is still as welcoming to all as it was back then. Anyone can swing by and gaze on Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ for ten minutes on their way to work, or stay all day and admire JMW Turner’s Bequest or Cézanne’s ‘Bathers’.

The gallery has blockbuster exhibitions, music concerts and courses that do carry an entry charge, but most of the collection isn’t ticketed, and there are free talks each day, which you don’t need to book in advance. These take a closer look at a different painting or theme each time.

Written by
Laura Lee Davies

Details

Address:
Trafalgar Square
London
WC2N 5DN
Transport:
Tube: Charing Cross
Price:
Free (permanent collection); admission charge applies for some temporary exhibitions
Opening hours:
Open daily 10am–6pm, Fridays 10am–9pm. Closed Jan 1, Dec 24–26.
Do you own this business?
Sign in & claim business

What’s on

Mantegna: The Triumphs of Caesar

  • 4 out of 5 stars

It’s hard to know if Italian Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna was issuing a doom-laden warning or just a doe-eyed love letter to history. Because written into the nine sprawling canvases of his ‘Triumphs of Caesar’ (six of which are on show here while their gallery in Hampton Court Palace is being renovated) is all the glory and power of Ancient Rome, but its eventual collapse too. It starts, like any good procession, with a load of geezers with trumpets, parping to herald the arrival of victorious Caesar. As they blare, a Black soldier in gorgeous, gilded armour looks back, leading you to the next panel where statues of gods are paraded on carts. Then come the spoils of war, with mounds of seized weapons and armour piled high, then come vases and sacrificial animals, riders on elephant-back, men struggling to carry the loot that symbolises their victory. The final panel, Caesar himself bringing up the rear, remains in Hampton Court, so there is no conclusion here, just a steady, unstoppable stream of glory and rejoicing.  The paintings are faded and damaged, and have been so badly lit that you can only see them properly from a distance and at an angle. But still, they remain breathtaking in their sweeping, chaotic beauty.  Partly, this massive work is a celebration of the glories of the classical world and its brilliance, seen from the other side of some very dark ages. But along with its rise, you can’t help but also think of Rome's demise, of what would eventually come a

‘The Last Caravaggio’

Caravaggio was the most dramatic of all Renaissance painters, both in his work (darkness! shadow! light!) and life (murder! revenge! syphilis!). In his final years he produced his most dramatic works. This small, free display focuses on what is possibly his last painting, ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula’ on loan from Italy, and it’s full of death, violence, blood and darkness. Genuinely can’t wait. 

Advertising
You may also like
You may also like