National Gallery

Facts and information

Address:: National Gallery, Trafalgar Square,
London WC2N 5DN
England
Website:: www.nationalgallery.org.uk
Opening times:: Gallery: 10 AM to 6 PM (Sat–Thu), 10 AM to 9 PM (Fri); Tours: 11.30 AM, 2.30 PM (daily) and 7 PM (Fri); Note: Opening times are subject to change, and may not apply on public holidays. Always reconfirm with the venue before making plans.
Cost:: Free
Telephone:: Work +44 (0) 207 747 2885
Buses:: 3 6 9 11 12 13 14 15 19 22 23 24 29 38 53 87 88 91 94 139 159 177 453
Trains:: Charing Cross BKL NRN, Covent Garden PCL, Embankment BKL CRC DSC NRN, Leicester Square NRN PCL, Piccadilly Circus BKL PCL Note: The nearest train station to National Gallery is Charing Cross. We can help you find the best route from any other train station:
Train journey to National Gallery

View of the National Gallery behind one of the Trafalgar Square fountains

^{National Gallery, London} View of the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery

^{Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery} View of the Grand Staircase in the art gallery

^{Grand Staircase, National Gallery} View of the gilding around the Barry Rooms

^{The Barry Rooms}

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The National Gallery is London’s premier art gallery, with over 2,000 works from 1260 onwards. Some of the artists on display include Botticelli, Cézanne, Constable, Monet, Rembrandt, Renoir, Titian, Turner and Van Gogh.

History of the National Gallery

The National Gallery was built in 1837 at the northern end of Trafalgar Square to accommodate a small collection paintings. The Government invested £57,000 in thirty-eight works by Raphael, Rembrandt and Rubens.

Despite the small amount of work on display, the building was soon cramped by the Royal Academy of Arts. This was moved to Piccadilly in 1868, and the works were given room to breathe.

The gallery is split into four different sections: the Sainsbury Wing deals with 1260 to 1510; the West Wing has 1510 to 1600; the North Wing has 1600 to 1700, and the East Wing has everything from 1700 to 1900.

The Sainsbury Wing (1260-1510)

The Sainsbury Wing is the newest part of the gallery – but displays the oldest paintings. Here you can see works from 1260 to 1510, which encompasses the Renaissance and artists like Titian, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. One of his best pieces is Virgin and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist. This was painted in 1508, and hangs in a specially darkened room.

A Wheatfield with Cypresses, by Van Gogh

^{Van Gogh’s A Wheatfield, with Cypresses}

^{Seurat’s The Bathers at Asnières}

Sandro Botticelli’s Venus and Mars depicts the God and Goddess lying on the grass with three mischievous little kids hovering by a fence.

Another famous sight is Jan Van Eyck’s Marriage of the Arnolfini. At the back of the scene hangs a mirror – expertly rendered to display the room in convex.

The West Wing (1510-1600)

The West Wing contains mainly French, Italian and Dutch paintings from the High Renaissance. Artists include Michelangelo, Correggio and El Greco.

Be sure to see Hans Holbein’s The Ambassadors. This life-size portrait of Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve contains a cleverly-intended illusion: at the front of the scene lies what seems to be a distorted disk, but if you move to the sides (footprints on the floor show you where to stand) then it reveals itself to be a human skull!

The North Wing (1600-1700)

The North Wing contains some of the most famous names in art: Rubens; Rembrandt; Van Dyck and Vermeer.

Italians from the 16th and 17th-centuries take primacy, but pride of place goes to Velázquez’s The Toilet of Venus. This painting caused uproar at the height of the Spanish Inquisition because Venus was shown sitting in the nude.

The East Wing (1700-1900)

The East Wing is the most popular part of the National Gallery – because it contains the famous British painters. John Constable’s The Hay Wain occupies Room 34, and J W Turner’s The Fighting Téméraire hangs nearby. This masterpiece of light and sky depicts an old decrepit warship being towed to a ship-breaking yard.

Other famous paintings not to be missed are Seurat’s The Bathers at Asnières, and a trio of Vincent Van Gogh masterpieces: Sunflowers; Chair and A Wheatfield, with Cypresses. You can also find works by Gauguin, Cézanne, Monet and Renoir.

>> Drummerboy’s blog – National Gallery

Drummerboy – “Normally when I go to a gallery I end up wandering aimlessly around looking at a few big pictures here and there, stopping to read a few of the name tags, and end up missing half of the good stuff. So when I went to the National Gallery this time I did a proper job and bought a map and audio guide. The good thing about the audio guide is it walks you straight to all the good stuff and misses out all the paintings by the boring nobodies. They had about 100 pieces mapped out on a little self-guided tour, which took you into every room in the building… continued.”

>> Write a review of National Gallery Read all reviews

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JRubin – “Next time it rains, pop into the National Gallery for a change, instead of looking round the shops. I often go in there during my lunch hour and it's so huge that there are pieces that i still haven't seen. It;s nice to have a wander round and find a paint… read the full review”
PWalker – “This is the best gallery I have ever been to, and i absolutely love it. I have been loads of times already and i never tire of it, such is the breadth of masterpieces on display. There is every kind of art here, from devotional religious pieces ato landsca… read the full review”