Shhhhh!!! Lady, your shoes!! Cried the English woman at the sound of my stilettos against the shiny wooden floor. She threw me a mad look but I just smiled at her and tiptoed to the painting of Diego Velazquez, "La Venus del Espejo" while looking at how Venus is looking from her painted mirror reflection held by Cupid.
“The Rokeby Venus” (1647-51) “La Venus del Espejo”
I am at the National Gallery in London, completely charmed and dazzled by all the beautiful artworks surrounding me and I cannot keep myself from smiling. It’s my first time in this piece of heaven so nothing and nobody can swing me away from my happy mood.
Recollecting that moment I stepped inside, I was all excited and panicky at the same time. Excited to see every masterpiece I could, in panic because I only have less than an hour to closing time (the only time I got after a full business day), which means I can literally take a peek and have no time to indulge.
The National Gallery, London in Trafalgar Square
There’s a vast collection of masterpieces inside the massive architectural structure and although I knew which paintings I wanted to see, I didn’t know where to go first. One of the receptionists recommended me to run through the most remarkable art pieces for the short time I had and was kind enough to highlight the map before I started my art viewing marathon.
Every painting has its own story, a story from the creator's mind and the story from the viewer's perspective. I wish I can write everything in my mind but I will never have the proper words to describe each of them and so is my feeling as I look through every single piece with my untrained eye but ever enthusiastic mind. I rely on my own subjective judgment on how fascinating they are. I cannot always fathom the meaning of the artworks but a great deal of study and analysis are done by art historians. The effort is huge and I salute them for what they do.
Anyhow, as every buff would know, it requires a lingering time to see more of the beauty of an art piece and to better understand it. But alas! I only covered a few important masterpieces and here are some of them.
La Venus del Espejo (1647-1651) by Diego Velazquez – the first painting shown above – also known as “The Toilet of Venus” or “The Rokeby Venus”. My sister Janna tried to make her own version of this artwork and here’s a draft of what she started to work on. (I'm sure she's going to kill me soon for including this photo).
2. Venus and Mars (1483) by Sandro Boticelli, the Italian Renaissance master. Boticelli depicts a powerful presentation
of love conquering war in this piece.
3. Sunflowers (1888) by Vincent van Gogh – What do sunflowers symbolize? Happiness. I guess van Gogh was trying
to get some of it for him.
I am a lover of van Gogh’s paintings, always have, always will. I can still remember how I ran to find the “Sunflowers”. I felt like a mouse in a maze finding some cheese and I did find it! Apparently, a lot of people did too, making the exhibition room really crowded.
4. A Wheatfield, with Cypresses (1889) Vincent van Gogh - One of my favorites and I do have my own lame version of
this artwork.
“A Wheatfield, with Cypresses” (1889), Vincent van Gogh
5. Farms near Auvers (1890) by Vincent van Gogh – an unfinished painting by the artist, but I still like it.
Van Gogh has always been known for the bold color of his paintings, their rough beauty and emotional honesty has always drawn me.
6. The Grand Canal, Venice (1908) by Claude Monet
This pastel colored impression of Venice reminds of its foggy and fresh mornings before the whole city wakes up.
7. The Burlington House Cartoon (1499-1500) by Leonardo da Vinci - It depicts Virgin Mary seated on St. Anne’s
knees, her mother holding baby Jesus with his cousin, ST. John the Baptist.
If there is something I will never ever miss, that will be a Da Vinci and this charcoal drawing in black and white chalk were done on eight sheets of paper glued together. It is presumed to be a cartoon for a painting.
8. Virgin of the Rocks also known as the Madonna of the Rocks (about 1491/2-9 & 1506-8) by Leonardo da Vinci
This was from the panels from the S. Francesco Altarpiece, Milan.There are actually 2 versions.One can be seen at the Louvre in Paris and this one can be found at the National Gallery in London.
9. The Adoration of the Kings (1510-15) Jan Gossaert
This large oil painting might have hypnotized me as I realized I spent about 10 minutes staring at all its detail and listening to the audio guide over and over. It was probably that one time in this visit I remember using the guide in order to understand the story better. I can’t say anything less than amazing on how this piece was done but also left in wonder why the faces are so formal.
10. Bacchus and Ariadne (1522–1523) by Titian – a presentation of a myth.
Whatever was the feeling of Ariadne when she was left by Theseus and so was that of the god Bacchus when he saw Ariadne in the island of Naxos. Heartbreak and love at first sight!
There are a lot more I wanted to see. I can stay in this gallery for a month without maybe even noticing the passing of time. Although I ran short of it, I am glad I seized the opportunity to see what I saw. But I always leave a place with the hope of seeing it again. And I think this is the usual reason why I am led to come back to places more than once.
-xoxo-
Entrance to the National Gallery is free but you can always leave some donations for its maintenance.
If you plan to go to the National Gallery (and I deeply encourage you), plan ahead by checking the website www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/
-o-
(Info and gallery photo from nationalgallery.org.uk)
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