The National Gallery in London is one of those galleries that require multiple viewings. We had been there just a year ago but it was all just an overwhelming blur. This may be partially due to the fact that they strictly forbid photography and thus I was not able to review what I saw. This time around I took notes on the works I particularly liked and bought the postcards available. The collection is so expansive that even if you limit yourself to only taking note of the most awe inspiring, you still end up with pages . If I had to pick my top 15…this is tough…these would be my current favorites by date:
1. 1434 Jan Van Eyck: Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife. Van Eyck is said to be the father of oil painting since he was the first to use it to create unprecedented detail. The depth and realism of this painting stands leagues above his contemporaries.
2. 1490 Carlo Crivelli: La Madonna della Rondine. Crivelli’s works encompass an entire room in the gallery and each one is intriguing. The artist is said to have made his subjects of saints to be lifelike so that they would seem more approachable but then he gave them fantastical qualities so as to keep them in the realm of mysticism. He was a one of a kind and his style is immediately recognizable.
3. 1499 Leonardo de Vinci: The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John The Baptist. This is a large sketch but shows his unmistakable hand and the soft roundness of the Virgin Mary’s face is similar to The Mona Lisa.
4. 1526 Hans Holbein The Younger: A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling. There is something about this image that draws me to it even though it has the characteristic stiffness of the period. The artist’s skill is displayed in the painting just next to it where a skull looks barely recognizable when viewed from straight on but when viewed from the side, looks perfectly in proportion.
5. 1565 Paolo Veronese: The Family of Darius Before Alexander. This is a monumentally sized painting that tells the story well. I mainly like to look at the handsome Alexander in his cherry red tunic, tights and futuristic looking booties. Too bad they didn’t dress Colin Farrell in those digs for the movie.
6. 1570 Giovanni Battista Moroni: Portrait of a Man (The Tailor). There are about 8 Moroni’s in the large hall when you first enter the museum. I was not familiar with this artist but now I have to add him to my favorites. His portraits are extraordinary for the time or for any time for that matter. The young man in the painting looks like he could step right out of the painting. In all of his paintings, you feel like you can really learn something about the people. He was able to capture the soulfulness of their eyes.
7. 1634 Rembrandt: Portrait of Aechje Claesdr. There is a room of Rembrandt portraits but this one really stands out. Rembrandt’s sometimes gnarly style suits the faces of old women. One wonders if the women portrayed appreciated how vigilant he was to reality. He certainly didn’t do them any favors but there is no doubt that this is what they looked like in life.
8. 1653 Willem Kalf: Still Life with Drinking-Horn. I’ve seen a lot of amazing Dutch still-lifes, but the lobster in this composition is just stunning. You also have all the other typical subjects masterly captured like the drinking glasses, horn, shining silver, lemon and carpet.
9. 1670 Johannes Vermeer: A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal. Of the two Vermeer works exhibited, I liked this one best. The perspective is closer and the entire painting is full of well executed textures. The woman’s face and sleeve benefit most from the famous Vermeer lighting. The other painting of a woman standing at a virginal is also nice but I don’t like how the woman’s face looks dull and almost green.
10. 1685 Rachel Ruysch: Flowers in a Vase. Women in Holland enjoyed more respect than most other countries in the 17th century and this painter was able to win renown for her skill. There are some other lovely flower bouquets in this gallery room but I liked hers best since the flowers recede so elegantly into the shadows. <
11. 1763 Francois-Hubert Drouais: Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame. This version of the great lady must have been commissioned to show her as she really was instead of the younger looking portrait done by Boucher I saw at the Wallace Collection. She has a soft face and double chin and looks quite matronly. Since she died at 42, this must have been how she looked at the end of her life. Everyone standing around this large painting was commenting on how amazingly her dress was done. The lace really stands out.
12. 1768 Joseph Wright of Derby: An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump. Ones feels sorry for this bird but what is more striking is the modern appearance of this painting. It truly looks like something that could have been painted in the last century not the seventeen hundreds. The realism and lighting are really astounding and I was not the only one wondering aloud why I had never seen this painting before or heard of the artist.
13. 1785 Thomas Gainsborough: Mr & Mrs William Hallet. I think this portrait so well exemplifies the style of Gainsborough. The couple is shown at their best in a somewhat detailed fashion but the active brushstrokes of the trees vibrate around them and make it a somewhat fanciful scene. There are many similarities to be drawn with Constable and the future echoes of impressionism are clear.
14. 1864 Monet: La Pointe de la Heve, Sainte-Adresse. I walked briskly through the impressionism halls looking for the types of paintings that really inspire me. They certainly have some famous paintings like Van Gogh’s Sunflowers but maybe I’m getting too picky. There weren’t any pre-impressionism paintings that struck my fancy. I really liked the calm palette and luminous late afternoon sky of this landscape painting by Monet. The rocky beach and green cliffs are atypically detailed.
15. 1904 Gustav Klimt: Portrait of Hermine Gallia. I always enjoy Klimt’s portraits. Instead of adding textures of gold and tile-like adornments, he leaves his favorite subject in a white dress, which makes her dark hair and penetrating eyes stand out.
If you don’t trust my judgement, the gallery offers its own 30 paintings not to be missed.
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