Short London Breaks is always happy to promote the great features of the city of London – especially when those great features are free of charge, and the national collection of art, as housed by the National Gallery delivers every time.
The walls are covered in hundreds of grand masters from all over the world but the national artists arent neglected in any way either! With the galleries being laid out systematically – covering time frames and geographical location each gallery offers a perfectly compiled study in itself – and if you are in the area for any period of time then we definitely recommend focussing on just one or two galleries per visit – a brilliant way to get the best from this national resource.
However if youre a real art aficionado then you may want to consider paying for entry to one of the specialised exhibitions that come to the National Gallery and currently, in collaboration with the Flemish Government they are showcasing the works of one of the great Flemish Masters – Jan Gossaert. The exhibition runs from February to the end of May so plenty of time to get along and soak in some high art. 
The exhibition features over 80 works, including many of the artist’s most important paintings, including the ‘Virgin and Child’, 1527, Prado, Madrid, and ‘Hercules and Deianeira’, 1517, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham. It also features drawings and contemporaneous sculptures of the Northern Renaissance.
The National Gallery has one of the largest and finest collections of Gossaert’s paintings in the world – a highlight being The Adoration of the Kings (1510–15). This exhibition allows them to be set in the context of the full range of the artist’s work, from the fruits of his early visit to Rome to the unusually erotic presentation of the nude in his Adam and Eve series.
Whilst youre there pick up a couple of their leaflets as regualr changes in the programme means a revisit is always a great way to pass the day!
Short London Breaks is an agency offering quality self-catering accommodation across London and at every budget level. To see details of available properties visit out website at www.shortlondonbreaks.co.uk
