This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s Guide to London
London’s National Gallery has a very extensive and enjoyable diverse collection, although smaller than European museums, and features all the major names of art from Leonardo to Picasso until the 1900s. Some famous works – “The Marriage of Arnolfini”, “Fighting Temererer”, “Sunflower” are paintings of destinations. Others tend to overlook the same beautiful and interesting things. When making personal choices, I ruled out 36 highlights defined by the gallery. We assumed that first-time visitors would seek these first. My choices include some of the best paintings ever made, as well as the lesser known that captivate me. I mapped a roughly chronological route, but no two visitors actually follow the same path. The joy is losing yourself in the epic maze of gallery possibilities.
Andrea di Bognauto, “Virgins and Children with Ten Saints,” 1365-70
Early Renaissance paintings are the glory of Sainsbury’s wings, designed as a contemporary rethink of the church architecture where most of these works were created. Boniauto’s 11 panels accurately evoke the Church of Santa Maria’s novels and were depicted as visual maps. Mary and Jesus stand high in the central arch, each studded with their own jewels, unfolding in the architectural order by ten saints, dedicated, all delicately individualized, in the vast church chapel.
Bertolmé Bermejo, “St Michael Triumphs over the Devils,” 1468
Sainsbury Wing’s sparkling new theme gallery “Gold” (Room 64) stars a sudden angel from Bermejo, the only Spanish Renaissance painting in the UK. The saint’s supple body bends in one direction, the swirls of his crimson cloak wavy the multicolored wings of the other, the golden breastplate reflects subtly detailed Jerusalem, and the pale oval face is immediately different and intense. Attacking Michael’s feet, the bloody demon/dragon/fish brings a comedic splash to this fierce vision of justice and protection. The dynamism of Vermajo and the shining theatricality of Manice show how stunning Spanish art has been.
Raphael, Pope Julius II, 1511-12
The central presence of the exhibition in Gallery 2, dedicated to the “power, sponsorship, politics” of the Renaissance, is a fundamental power portrait of European art. There is a wonderful feeling of being in the presence of a wily old pope called the warrior pope. Vibrant deep colors, front poses, heavy curtains, thick rings, everything is strong and ritual. But the paintings are also intimate. I feel Julius’ frailty. After his death, Giorgio Vasari said the portrait was “very lively and scared everyone.”
Morett da Brescia, “Portrait of a Young Man”, 1540-5
Among the many wonders of Renaissance Portrait Room 4, there is always a youthful type of Moreto. If you are lost to cozy, charming intellectual, thoughtless, and not on his sleeves on top of his hat, read “Oh I long for so much.” This is Fortunato Martinengo, who founded Brescia’s “Academia del Dubbiosi” to discuss humanist ideas. His wealth is unquestionable. The gorgeous snow leopard to his gown rivals the gorgeous fur of Holbein’s famous “ambassador” in the same room.
Titian, Diana, Ataeon, Diana and Callisto, 1556-59
The new gallery dedicated to one of Rehang’s greatest benefits, Titian (Room 8), includes the most enthusiastic paintings of all collections: pairs, “Diana and Actaeon” and “Diana and Callisto.” With their pictorial eloquence, united forms and stories – all the senses of disbanding, transformed into flickering brushwork, like a cruel tale of passion, fate, and innocence, these photographs opened up a new secular expression. Campaigned for the 2009 acquisition, Lucien Freud called them “simply the most beautiful photographs in the world.”
Pushin, the landscape with a man killed by a snake, 1648
Cool classicist Pushin looks far today, but “a landscape with a man killed by a snake” holds by the very restraint that invites us to follow a zigzag of gaze shocked by the idyllic scene. A man runs away in fear when he sees a corpse intertwined with a fat snake. Worried, the washing machine throws his visible arm at him, but the body is invisible. The fisherman only sees frightened women. Drama is the stimulating realization of death that lies within the beauty of nature.
Rembrandt, “Portrait of Hendrique Stoffel,” 1654-6
Holds himself among the epic religious dramas of Rembrandt Gallery (22nd Room). Rembrandt’s lover is a half dress, with the soft flesh on her breasts and neck being elevated by her jewels, slivers of silk chemistry, and loosely hanging, loosely painted fur wraps. With her huge black eyes and unparalleled expressions between uncertainty and familiarity, spontaneity and seriousness, she frankly sees us with the artist.
Joseph Wright, “Air Pump Bird Experiment,” 1768
Do you want to breathe from Panic-made Okakotoo for Air Live or Die? How we are involved in that prospect of death is the subject of this creepy, persuasive candle scene (34th house), animated by so many contrasts. Wright, the first painter of the Industrial Revolution, appears to have warned that the dangers of an emotionally isolated scientific society will come.
Monet, “Argenteuil Snow Scene”, 1875
Gallery 46 is dedicated to the late Ellamone (his works from 1890 to 1917, including many waterfalls), but in the early Impressionist rooms, paintings of young Monet waters of all forms – paintings of the sea, rivers, steam and snow are also delighted. Here he envelops us in the winter afternoon atmosphere of the Parisian suburbs, under the sharp sensations of cold air, muffled sounds, and thick, snow-crushed feet beneath his feet, as the sun begins to wander, throwing a still pinkish glow, and begins to sprint through the buildings.
Ferdinand Hodler, Bloomlisarp Massif and Keene Valley, 1902
Modernizers in Gallery 44 – Among the modernizers of Picasso, Cezanne and Surat are depictions of the Bernese Alps near Hodler’s home, rejected like traditional Swiss picturesque in favor of geometric structures and exhilaratingly compressed spaces. Hodler’s plunging scenery, crystal colours and decorative patterns create a fresh, dashing landscape. This, which was acquired in 2022, is great evidence that the National Gallery continues to grow and change.
What is your favorite painting or room at the National Gallery in London? Please let me know in the comments below. Follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @ftglobetrotter
FT City
FT Globetrotter, an insider guide to some of the world’s largest cities, offers expert advice on food, drinking, exercise, the arts and culture.
Find us in London, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami, Toronto, Madrid, Melbourne, Copenhagen, Zurich, Milan, Vancouver
