National Gallery
TIME : 2016/2/22 10:45:41
National Gallery
The National Gallery started out quite small. In 1824, the British government purchased a collection of 38 pictures from a wealthy banker and put them on display in his townhouse, but it didn’t take long for private donations to come trickling in. The early directors dreamed of something bigger, and a larger site was soon needed to house everything the gallery would contain.
Today, the collection is kept in an impressive pantheon-style building raised on a terrace atop Trafalgar Square, with its round fountains and double-decker buses flowing by below. More than 2,300 masterworks have found their home behind the columns of the National Gallery, dating from the Middle Ages through the 20th century and including pieces from big names such as Monet, van Gogh, da Vinci, Holbein, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Ruben and van Eyck.
While this gallery could be considered small in comparison to other famous museums, the National Gallery has distinguished itself by precisely tracing the development of European painting across the centuries. For its encyclopedic scope, it deserves its place as the fifth-most visited art museum in the world.
The rooms that house the art are nothing short of elaborate. Some landscapes take up entire walls, while other chambers have walls covered in portraits. Mosaic floors and marble pillars prove to be a fitting surrounding for the historic works of art. Practical Info
The paintings may be priceless, but because the art technically belongs to the public, entry to the gallery is free. The National Gallery is located in central London and has extended opening hours – every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Friday until 9 p.m. The closest tube station is Charing Cross, where Trafalgar Square sits just behind the exit.
