I am so excited to share some highlights of the National Gallery of Art in London. When I knew I was going to be in England this summer the National Gallery was first on my list of places to visit.
National Gallery of Art from Trafalgar Square
The National Gallery in London is the first museum that I remember going to and really enjoying and that 27 years ago, so I was very excited to go back. Wow, it has some wonderful art.
The Wilton Dyptch
This is an incredible personal portable religious devotional piece for King Richard II made in the late 1300s. Can you believe that? It is over 600 years old.
The Wilton Dyptch English or French artist, about 1395-9 The National Gallery of Art, London, England
It is a gorgeous example of medieval painting. Look at all that gold leaf and blue. Amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdqsWUt4GI0
Wow, as I was watching this video I started crying. I feel so blessed to be able to see this incredible piece of art in person and to go to Westminster and learn more about King Richard II and Edward the Confessor. It is such a beautiful symbol of devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Ambassadors
I was so excited to see this painting in person. The level of detail is incredible and I wanted to see the skull or Memento Mori too.
| https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/Trips/2025/England/Days/n-HLtGkF/July-17/i-7DxzBw2/0/MZcCDcbVN27ZZq9XCPP93qBkLJLVD4TfPz65p6f2k/XL/PXL_20250717_115359278~2-XL.jpg | https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/Trips/2025/England/Days/n-HLtGkF/July-17/i-4cfZ8G8/0/KNJ3Wdcrpk5DQv4Vds97RcF83Cc6DgH7BbSsDvvDV/L/PXL_20250717_115042277-L.jpg Hans Holbein's The Ambassadors 1533 | https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/Trips/2025/England/Days/n-HLtGkF/July-17/i-kBdzZtT/0/KdsqG55kJfJ4Ln8Pkvjnt5kQPBvW4bT733f3gvMkS/XL/PXL_20250717_123114534.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL-XL.jpg |
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Memento Mori is a symbol of death put in art work like paintings to remind the viewer that they too will die. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pK8_xWD5xk0
The level of detail is gorgeous! It is said the song in the book is written with such precision that someone could play it.
I sat in front of this painting for about an hour and looked at it slowly and watched people from all over the world interact with it too.
The Arnolfini Portrait
I was so incredibly excited to see this painting. Wow, Jan van Eyck is incredible. How does one paint in such find detail? I do not understand and maybe that is why I am in even more awe.
There is so much symbolism too. Maybe I will do a post on this picture alone. I could do it on all the pictures I am highlighting in this post. They are incredible.
The Arnolfini Portrait Jan van Eyck, about 1434 The National Gallery of Art, London, England
I am so glad that I went to the gallery two days, once on a Wednesday and once on a Saturday. The crowd to see this painting on a Saturday in August too much.
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It actually gave me the opportunity to look closer at these paintings, in the same gallery. Rogier van der Weyden is also incredible.
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| Portrait of a Man, Jan van Eyck | The Magdalen Reading, Rogier van der Weyden |
I have linked many videos below for my own reference and for you, if you would like to learn more of any of these paintings. Here is one of my favorite youtubers- Great Art Explained talking about The Arnolfini Portrait.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T15Kv6dtYO0
The Hay Wain
The Hay Wain John Constable, 1821 The National Gallery of Art, London, England
The Hay Wain is one of the first pictures I memorized for class and then saw in person. To help me memorize it I imagined a constable on the shore of the river and he is calling out to the man in the cart "Hey Wayne!" Pretty brilliant, right? When I saw it for the first time in person in 1998 I was so excited.
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Here are some of the famous Constable clouds.
In addition to painting The Hay Wain being the first painting I memorized I have also seen so many Constable paintings of Salisbury Cathedral. It was a dream of mine to go to Salisbury and see it in person. I did and it was amazing!
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I was excited to go back and see this painting. There is a walk way with Constable on one side and Turner on the other. What a set up for these two great rivals of British painting.
Rain, Steam and Speed- The Great Western Railway
I was surprised by the impact that seeing Turner's paintings had on me when I was able to stand so close to them. I was amazed, enveloped and moved to tears. He really is an incredible artist.
I was introduced to this painting when my friend Katherine wrote a paper for her Cambridge class on it. I was so excited to be able to travel across southern England on the train. Turner showed the modernity, the interaction of nature (rain) and the invention (train), he also shows us the scale of this new form of transportation compared to the boat in the picture. When you allow yourself to look at this piece slowly it really is stunning.
Rain, Steam and Speed- The Great Western Railway Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1844 The National Gallery of Art, London, England
What do you think of these 5 paintings? Do you have one that stands out? Why?
These are some of my favorite paintings/ artists. There were so many other amazing pictures in the gallery.
Do you want to see more?
Sources: Wilton Diptych: Wikipedia Wilton Diptych: NGA Wilton Diptych: NGA video Wilton Diptych: NGA video Winton Diptych: Smarthistory viedo The Ambassadors: NGA The Ambassadors: NGA video The Ambassadors: Smarthistory video The Arnolfini Portrait: NGA The Arnolfini Portrait: NGA video The Arnolfini Portrait: Smarthistory video The Hay Wain: NGA The Hay Wain: NGA video The Hay Wain: NGA video The Hay Wain: Smarthistory video Rain, Steam and Speed- The Great Western Railway: NGA Rain, Steam and Speed- The Great Western Railway: NGA viedo Rain, Steam and Speed- The Great Western Railway: Smarthistory viedo