Keith and I took our respective mothers' advice and went to the
Wallace Collection today. The Wallace Collection is in the Baker Street area and is the personal art collection of the 4th Marquess of Hertford and his son Sir Richard Wallace put together mainly in the 19th century. The collection is still contained in the family's large L
ondon town home (Hertford House) which was bequeathed to the nation at the end of the 19th century and turned into a public museum. There were a few paintings that I recognized in the collection:
The Swing, featuring a lovely lady in a pink frothy gown having a romantic idyll with her two male admirers (one of whom was originally supposed to be a Bishop, naughtily), The Laughing Cavalier (who is arguably neither) and a beautiful portrait of Madame de Pompadour. There are other paintings by Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Canaletto (Venetian scenes), Jan Steen - the list goes on and on. There is also a lot of French furn
iture, including more of Marie-Antoinette's stuff than
what is now at Versailles. Other French pieces abound, including a lot of paintings and busts of Louis XIV through XVI. There are also a lot of paintings which feature dogs - always a hit with us. We liked the so much we picked up a calendar featuring the Dogs of the Wallace Collection. there is also a remarkably huge collection of early guns, cannons and armour. The museum was a great place to spend the afternoon because while there is a lot to see, it's not so big that the visit is stressful or exhausting. Very much recommended to anyone visiting London!
Keith and I took our respective mothers' advice and went to the Wallace Collection today. The Wallace Collection is in the Baker Street area and is the personal art collection of the 4th Marquess of Hertford and his son Sir Richard Wallace put together mainly in the 19th century. The collection is still contained in the family's large L
ondon town home (Hertford House) which was bequeathed to the nation at the end of the 19th century and turned into a public museum. There were a few paintings that I recognized in the collection: The Swing, featuring a lovely lady in a pink frothy gown having a romantic idyll with her two male admirers (one of whom was originally supposed to be a Bishop, naughtily), The Laughing Cavalier (who is arguably neither) and a beautiful portrait of Madame de Pompadour. There are other paintings by Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Canaletto (Venetian scenes), Jan Steen - the list goes on and on. There is also a lot of French furn
iture, including more of Marie-Antoinette's stuff than
what is now at Versailles. Other French pieces abound, including a lot of paintings and busts of Louis XIV through XVI. There are also a lot of paintings which feature dogs - always a hit with us. We liked the so much we picked up a calendar featuring the Dogs of the Wallace Collection. there is also a remarkably huge collection of early guns, cannons and armour. The museum was a great place to spend the afternoon because while there is a lot to see, it's not so big that the visit is stressful or exhausting. Very much recommended to anyone visiting London!
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