One of the best places when it comes to art is open to the public again.
You must book your ticket(s) online as there is a limited amount of people that can enter the gallery at one time. However, it’s for free!
Normally the gallery is super crowded but since the places are limited this is a unique opportunity to enjoy great masterpieces with not that many people around.
The National Gallery, London, UK
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There are three predetermined routes (A, B and C) that you can explore. Unfortunately you cannot wonder around but there is a way to see the whole gallery in one visit:
Start with Route A.
Then do Route C.
Route C will take you to the Impressionist/Postimpressionist section (which is awesome and normally would be very packed!).
When you reach the lobby straight after the Impressionist/Postimpressionist section, don’t descend to the lower floor and cross the hall to see Holbein’s masterpiece: The Ambassadors (just one room).
Descend to the lower floor and go to a small exhibition of Nicolaes Maes, Dutch baroque painter (it’s for free as a part of the general ticket).
Use the stairs in the end of the exhibition that will take you straight to Route B.
Here is a selection of some of the best artworks that you can see at the National Gallery.
Route A
Route A offers numerous masterpieces of Medieval, Early Renaissance and High Renaissance artists (14th – 16th century). The section shows paintings of great masters like Uccello, Bellini, Mantegna, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, van Eyck, Piero della Francesca, or Raphael.
Giovanni Bellini, Doge Leonardo Loredan, Renaissance
Bellini was a Venetian painter who ran a famous art workshop in Venice. One of his pupils was Titian, another great Renaissance painter.
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Bellini belonged to a family of successful artists. His father and brother, Jacopo Bellini and Gentile Bellini, were also well-known painters and his sister married Andrea Mantegna who was one of the greatest Renaissance painters.
Giovanni Bellini, The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr, Renaissance
This painting has been recently restored.
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Leonardo da Vinci, Virgin of the Rocks, Renaissance
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There are two paintings called the Virgin of the Rocks made by Leonardo. One can be seen at the National Gallery in London and the other is exhibited in the Louvre in Paris.
Jan van Eyck, Portrait of a Man (left) and The Arnolfini Portrait (right), Renaissance
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Piero della Francesca, The Baptism of Christ, Renaissance
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Raphael, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Renaissance
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Sandro Botticelli, Venus and Mars, Renaissance
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Sandro Botticelli, Portrait of a Young Man, Renaissance
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Paolo Uccello, The Battle of San Romano, Renaissance
This painting depicts a battle between two Italian rich and powerful city states, Florence and Siena. There were two paintings made by Uccello. The second one is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
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Exhibition of Nicolaes Maes: Dutch Master of the Golden Age
Girl at a Window, Baroque
Nicolaes Maes was a pupil of Rembrandt.
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The Eavesdropper, Baroque
He made numerous paintings depicting a scene when one person is eavesdropping on someone else’s conservation.
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Route B
The National Gallery has a vast collection of Baroque art (17th century) including a lot of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt that you can enjoy during the Route B.
Anthony van Dyck (possibly), Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs, Baroque
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Johannes Vermeer, A Young Woman standing at a Virginal, Baroque
Vermeer is considered as one of the greatest Dutch Baroque painters. There are only 35 confirmed Vermeer’s paintings in the World.
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Anthony van Dyck, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, Baroque
This is an extremely large painting that barely fits the wall. One thing I find quite intriguing is the horse’s head. Just look how small it is compared to the body.
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Rembrandt, A Woman batching in a Stream, Baroque
If you like Rembrandt then the National Gallery is place for you. There are numerous artworks of the Dutch Baroque painter.
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Rembrandt, Self Portrait at the Age of 63, Baroque
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Philippe de Champaigne, Cardinal de Richelieu, Baroque
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Diego Velázquez, The Toilet of Venus, Baroque
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Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio), The Supper at Emmaus, Baroque
Caravaggio lived a troubled life. He had to flee Rome after killing a man but even as a fugitive he still received commissions and was in the end pardoned by the Pope. However, he died mysteriously on his way back to Rome.
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Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio), Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist, Baroque
The light plays a key role in his paintings, in which figures are lit in a way that they come out of the dark background.
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Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, The Young Schoolmistress, Rococo
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