The Courtauld Institute of Art in London
By Charlie. Filed in Arts & Culture |
Some of the finest art in the world hangs in London, England, at the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery ; the art work here is installed in grand buildings in Trafalgar Square and along the Thames, both relatively easy to find and filled with work from Johannes Vermeer’s A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal, Paul Cezanne’s “Bathers,” to J.M.W. Turner’s “Norham Castle, Sunrise.” Fewer people, though, know the way to the smaller gallery of the Courtauld Institute of Art , over at Somerset House along the Strand in London, WC24 0RN.
This little gallery, close to the Waterloo Bridge and between such Underground stations as Temple and Charing Cross, contains an internationally famous collection of work from various periods of art: Gothic and Medieval work, the Renaissance, Rubens and the Baroque, work from the 18th century and 20th Century, as well as Imprssionism and Post Impressionism. You’ll find drawings and prints from Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Durer, Vincent Van Gogh, Picasso, and Canaletto.
The Coutauld Institute has one of the best collections of Impressionist paintings any art lover could hope to find. There are works which trace the evolution of modern French painting, from Monet to Renoir, to Seurat and Gaugin. There are even masterpieces here, such as Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear” or the last painting made by Manet, “A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, ” each in their own way, beautiful and heartbreaking works of art. In addition, you’ll find canvases by Cezanne and a room dedicated to the paintings, drawings, and bronzes created by Degas.
The museum also contains the Courtauld Gallery Cafe, which is an excellent place to take your morning coffee, or have a lunch, or take an afternoon tea. The jams, chutneys and cakes are homemade in the cafe’s kitchen, and there’s even a menu of traditional British and European dishes at a reasonable price, so you don’t feel guilty about skipping the continental breakfast at your hotel in London and coming here to relax among the incredible art.
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- Take Time to Enjoy London
- The Forest Research Institute in Kuala Lumpur
- New York City has 2 Charles Burchfield Exhibits
- Poole Arts Center
Tags: hotel in london
Thursday, June 24th 2010 at 6:23 pm |
I adore impressionist art. I’m adding the Courtald Institute to my list of “must sees” for London. Maybe once the economy picks up I’ll be able to afford that trip across the pond I’ve dreamed of since I was a little girl.