LONDON WEEKEND BREAKS - The National Gallery

The National Gallery has now been in existence for approaching 200 hundred years and all of its artworks are publicly owned by the people of Britain.

The collection spans almost 700 years running from the thirteenth century to the start of the twentieth century and it encompasses over 2,300 individual paintings.

History of the National Gallery

The National Gallery opened to the public in May 1824 after the new institute obtained a small collection of 38 paintings. Over subsequent years and decade numerous paintings and collections were bought or gifted to the gallery.

The present location of the National Gallery dates back to the eighteen thirties when the purposed designed National Gallery building was constructed and opened in the area that is now known the world over as Trafalgar Square.

In the early years of the National Gallery's life, the collection was built around the Renaissance works with Italian paintings from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries making up the bulk of the collection. But as time passed by the scope of the gallery expanded to include a more extensive and varied portfolio. Necessity also made the gallery's purchases move in a different direction as private buyers made many desirable classic unaffordable.

The collection

It is impossible to list the National Gallery's collection, but suffice to say it now classifies as one of the world's great galleries with a representation of masterpieces that are envied throughout the art world.

Masters on display include the likes of, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, J. M. W. Turner, John Constable, Michelangelo, Agnolo Bronzino, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Rembrandt, Piero della Francesc, Salvator Rosa, William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough.

Location and entry

The National Gallery opens daily from 10.00am to 6.00pm (with extended opening times on Wednesdays) and it is free to enter with the exception of special exhibitions.

The gallery can be found facing Trafalgar Square and Tube stations in the vicinity include Charing Cross, Embankment, and Leicester Square.