The National Gallery, situated at the Trafalgar Square, London, attracts approximately 4 to 5 million visitors yearly. It was founded in 1824 and has since become home for London’s splendid collection of roughly 2,300 paintings, which date back from the middle of 13th century to the 19th century. Distinct from Museo del Prado of Madrid and Louvre of Paris, National Gallery was not designed to take over a subsisting royal collection. It started when the British government during that time bought around 36 paintings from John Julius Angerstein. Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, who was one of its primary directors during the olden times, arranged the artworks together with other privately donated pieces. As opposed to other national galleries in Europe, National Gallery’s collection is rather small in number, but most of it are the important works from noted painters like Giotto down to Cézanne.
A visit to this noteworthy destination is free of charge. Meaning you don’t have to spend money to see the famous works of Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Titian, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Raphael, Rembrandt, Monet, Seurat, Caravaggio, Nicolas Poussin, Hans Holbein the Younger, Anthony Van Dyck, Johannes Vermeer, George Stubbs and many other great artists. Popular paintings here include “ The Baptism of Christ,” “The Virgin of the Rocks,” “The Madonna of the Pinks,” “Van Gogh’s Chair,” and “The Rokeby Venus” among others.
Indeed, a visit to this gallery would not only leave you awestruck but you will feel like you’re traveling back during the painter’s era. These paintings seemingly come alive as you slowly scrutinize each of them.
So for those who love the arts, National Gallery London is the perfect place to go to. When you’re inside the gallery, you’ll feel that as if you are rubbing elbows with the world’s greatest masters of the art.
For more info, you may visit the official National Gallery website.
