Displaying items by tag: National Gallery

The National Gallery (NG) in Prague today put on display Gustav Klimt’s painting "Lady with a Muff" from 1916–17, considered missing for decades.

The painting was borrowed from a private Czech collection in which it has been since the early 1930s.

"Lady with a Muff" will feature alongside another two paintings by Klimt (1862–1918) in the NG for a period of time.

In fall 2015, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts will present “Eugène Delacroix and Modernity,” the first major exhibition to explore the legacy of the celebrated French painter, an influential trailblazer and one of the first modern masters of the form. The exhibition takes Cézanne’s observation that “we all paint in Delacroix’s language” as its starting point to reveal how Delacroix revolutionized French painting for the next generation of artists, leaving an indelible mark on Matisse, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Renoir, Degas, Monet, and others. The MIA is partnering with the National Gallery, London, for this unprecedented survey, featuring important works from the museums’ collections as well as rarely seen works from private collections. The exhibition opens at the MIA on October 18, 2015, and runs through January 10, 2016. It is on view at the National Gallery, London, February 10 through May 15, 2016.

By the time of his death, Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) was one of the most revered artists in Paris and a hero of the avant-garde. By challenging the status quo by pushing the boundaries of the “Grand Style” of painting into the realm of modernism, he paved the way for younger artists. His large-scale paintings were the first to use the expressive, improvisational markmaking of the Impressionists, the dreamlike allusion of the Symbolists, and the bold colors of Morocco made famous 80 years later by Renoir and Matisse.

London’s National Gallery has quietly transformed its display policy to show far fewer of its paintings. Contrary to the widespread belief that it is among the few very large museums anywhere in the world that shows nearly all its collection, in fact nearly half of its works are off view.

Neil MacGregor, while serving as director of the gallery, wrote in his introduction to the 1995 “Complete Illustrated Catalogue” that “every one of its 2,000 or so paintings is on public view”. The majority were installed in the main galleries, along with a dense display in a lower level gallery, known as Room A. By 2012, there were just over 1,000 paintings in the main galleries and 700 in Room A, representing 72% of the collection.

Following a two-year refurbishment, the National Gallery’s impressive gallery space, Room A, has reopened to the public. Lying beneath the main floor galleries, this permanent display offers visitors a chance to explore 218 pictures dating from the 13th to the late 19th centuries.

This newly reopened gallery offers a different way of experiencing the nation’s collection of European paintings as it is hung in broadly chronological order, telling the entire story of 400 years of painting in a single space. It aims to enhance visitors’ appreciation and understanding of some of the National Gallery’s lesser-known paintings and it provides the space and opportunity to study these works in greater detail - and in better viewing conditions - than before. With a record-breaking 6 million visitors during 2013, the National Gallery remains committed to researching and showcasing its extraordinarily rich permanent collection.

The painting shows an old, weary man slumped in contemplation in his armchair and has spent more time in the National Gallery's storeroom than on display because it is attributed to a follower of Rembrandt rather than the artist himself.

But the gallery is being urged to rethink. The academic widely acknowledged as the world's leading expert on Rembrandt is about to drop an art historical bombshell by arguing it was not only painted by the 17th century Dutch master himself, but it is also a pivotal work for the artist.

"It is of wonderful quality and is revolutionary in a sense," Ernst van de Wetering told the Guardian. "It is a very important painting."

In 17th-century France, Charles Le Brun was as hot as any artist could be. He created work for the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, for the Galerie d’Apollon in the Louvre, for Hôtel Lambert on Île St. Louis, for the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte and for much of Versailles. Louis XIV declared him “the greatest French artist of all time.” Whatever he produced made an impact.

Now, after a nail-biting three months for officials at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Le Brun’s presence will make a difference there, too.

The smartly dressed man with frown lines and a bristling moustache is as much a mystery as the rollicking scene in Vulcan's forge, where a cherub is in imminent danger of being clouted by the blacksmith's hammer. They are among thousands of enigmatic paintings, hanging in galleries, council chambers, boardrooms and fire stations, about which almost nothing is known.

The public, however, is being invited to turn art detective, and help trace artists, dates, subjects and other helpful information about the paintings.

Scholars have discovered a previously unknown portrait by James McNeill Whistler hidden beneath a painting of a bridge over the River Thames from 1862. The subject is thought to be Whistler’s young mistress and model Jo Hiffernan, who lived with the artist in London for five years. Prior to the discovery, experts believed Whistler created only around six portraits of Hiffernan, including the well-known Symphony in White, No. 1: the White Girl, 1862, at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

To commemorate the upcoming holiday, the National Gallery in London has selected paintings from its collection that when viewed together, tell the story of Easter. Works by Rembrandt, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Caravaggio, Diego Velázquez, and others recount the events leading up to Christ’s Crucifixion, which is known as the Passion, as well as his resurrection.

Located in Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery houses over 2,300 paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. Its collection belongs to the public of the UK. The museum is open seven days a week and offers free admission.

The Easter Story can also be viewed on the National Gallery’s website.