Page 113 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - London

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The Sainsbury Wing
This extension was built in 1991
to house the National Gallery’s
world-class collec tion of early
Renaissance paintings, where
they remain today. Plans for
the Sainsbury Wing provoked
a storm of dissent and the final
building, by Robert Venturi,
drew much criticism.
Major temporary exhibitions
are held here – check the
gallery’s website for details.
Visitors can also find the
aforementioned perm anent
collections on the Italian
Renaissance.

Temeraire, as well as works
Dutch, Italian, French by the French artists Corot
and Spanish Painting and Daubigny.
(1600–1700) Of Romantic art, there are
The superb Dutch collection Géricault’s vivid works, Horse
gives much of two rooms to Frightened by Lightning and
Rembrandt. There are also A Shipwreck, which possibly
works by Vermeer, Van Dyck prefigures his The Raft of the
(among them his equestrian Medusa. In contrast, the society
portrait of King Charles I) and portrait of Madame Moitessier by
Rubens (including the popular The Scale of Love (1715–18) by Ingres, though still Romantic, is
Chapeau de Paille). Jean-Antoine Watteau more restrained and Classical.
From Italy, the works of Impressionists and other
Carracci and Caravaggio are French avant-garde artists are
strongly represented, and Venetian, French well represented. Among the
and English Painting
Salvator Rosa has a glowering highlights are The Water-Lily
portrait entitled Philosophy. (1700–1800) Pond by Monet, Renoir’s At
French works on show include One of the gallery’s most the Theatre and Van Gogh’s
a magnificent portrait of Cardinal famous 18th-century works is Sunflowers, not to mention
Richelieu by Philippe de Canaletto’s The Stonemason’s one of Rousseau’s famous
Champaigne. Claude’s seascape Yard. Other Venetians here are jungle scenes, Surprised!, in
Seaport with the Embarkation of Longhi and Tiepolo. The French which a tiger stalks explorers.
the Queen of Sheba hangs beside collection includes Rococo In Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières
Turner’s rival painting Dido masters such as Chardin, he did not originally use the
Building Carthage, as Turner Watteau and Boucher. pointillist technique he was
himself had instructed. Gainsborough’s early work later to invent, but subseq-
The Spanish collection has Mr and Mrs Andrews and The uently reworked areas of the
works by Murillo, Velázquez, Morning Walk are favourites picture using dots of colour.
Zurbarán and others. with visitors; his rival, Sir Joshua
Reynolds, is represented by
several of the portraits that
secured his reputation. Hogarth’s
satirical Marriage à-la-mode
series is another highlight.

English, French
and German Painting
(1800–1900)
The great age of 19th-century
landscape painting is amply
represented here, with fine
works by Constable and Turner,
Young Woman Standing at a Virginal including Constable’s The Hay
(1670–72) by Jan Vermeer Wain and Turner’s The Fighting Sunflowers (1888) by Vincent van Gogh

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