National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
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The National Gallery, the work of Playfair, contains Scotland's biggest collection of European paintings and sculptures, beginning with the Renaissance and even including some Post-Impressionists. Prince Albert laid the foundation stone for the building in 1850 and it was opened in 1859.
National Gallery of Scotland Map
Important Information:
Official site:
www.nationalgalleries.org/portraitgallery
Address:
The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2EL, Scotland
Opening hours:
10am-5pm; Thu: 10am-7pm
Entrance fee:
FREE
Useful tips: Admission to the Permanent Collection is free. Admission charges vary for exhibitions.
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
Facilities: Gift shop, Restaurant or food service
Typical Visit: 8 hours
National Gallery of Scotland Highlights
Renaissance Collection
Masterpieces on the first floor of the National Gallery of Scotland include some Renaissance altar paintings and Raffael's "Madonna", in addition to some works by European masters from the 18th and 19th century, such as van Gogh's "Olive Trees" and "Dutch Peasant Girl", impressions of the South Seas by Gauguin, Degas' "Diego Martinelli", Rodin's "Young Mother" and Degas' "Grand Arabesque" and "The Bath Tub". Impressionists such as Monet ("Haystacks"), Seurat, Sisley, Pisarro, Renoir ("Mother and Child") and Cézanne ("Mont Ste-Victoire") are also represented.
Venetian collection
Galleries 1 and 2 on the ground floor display work by Venetian artists of the 16th century including Jacopo Bassano's "The Adoration of the Kings" as well as Titian's "The Three Ages of Man" and "Diana and Acteaon".
Savior of the World
The highlights of galleries 3 and 4 are El Greco's "Savior of the World", a portrait of a woman by the 19-year-old Velázquez and Claude Lorraine's "Apollo and the Muse".
Seven Sacraments
Gallery 5 contains Nicholas Poussin's "Seven Sacraments".
Dutch and Flemish Collection
Dutch and Flemish art of the 17th century occupy galleries 6,7 and 9 with portraits by Frans Hals and Rembrandt, Rubens' "Reconciliation between Jacob and Esau", a landscape by Ruesdael, Elsheimer's "Stoning of St Stephen", Vermeer's "Christ in the House of Martha and Mary" and van Dyck's "Martyrdom of St Sebastian".
Exhibitions
Gallery 8 in the National Gallery of Scotland is reserved for touring exhibitions, but every January there is a display of watercolors by William Turner. Because of their sensitivity to light, they can be displayed only in the winter.
Gainsborough collection
Galleries 10 to 12 (18th/19th century) house portraits by Gainsborough, the Anglo-American Benjamin West and Raeburn (including his portrait of "Reverend Robert Walker" skating on Duddingston Loch), a still life by Chardin, Watteau's "Feast in Venice", Delacroix's "Chess Player", landscapes by Constable and the "Medicus" by Goya.
New Wing
The New Wing, opened in 1978, is devoted to Scottish painting and display works by the landscape painter Sir William McTaggart ("The Storm"), portraits by Sir James Guthrie and by Allan Ramsay the Younger (1713-1784) who enjoyed a successful career at the court of George III in London.
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