The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square in London The National Gallery displays over 2000 Western European paintings from the middle ages to the 20th century. The pictures in the collection belong to the

public and admission to see them is free. There are special exhibitions, lectures, video and audio-visual

programmes, guided tours and holiday events for children and adults.

History At the

beginning of the 19th century,

king George IV realized that

many European cities had opened

impressive art museums to the public, such as the Louver in

Paris the Vatican museums in Rome and

the Uffizi in Florence.

George IV did not want Britain to be left behind so in 1824 he pushed a reluctant government into purchasing the house of the

just deceased John Julius Angerstein, a rich Russian

banker and art collector. The works were initially displayed in the banker's residence at Pall

Mall.Over the years the collection expanded to one of the most prestigious in Europe. Over 2300 paintings are now on display in the monumental

building at  Trafalgar Square

The BuildingThe neoclassical building that now houses the museum was completed in 1838 after a much-criticized design by English architect William

Wilkins. It was built at the then still to be developed  Trafalgar Square, which had just been

cleared.

Plans to replace the building were never realized and in 1876 the museum was expanded with a

new east wing. In the mid 1980s plans for a new expansion were launched, but the modern

design faced so much opposition - most notably from the Prince of Wales - that it was shelved

and replaced with a more conventional building, known as the Sainsbury wing.

The CollectionThe National Gallery's collection includes European paintings from the 13th to the 19th century. The works are arranged in

a more or less chronological order.  The museum's main entrance is at the Sainsbury wing where you'll find the oldest paintings such as works by Giotto and

Jan van Eyck. Late Renaissance works from Titian, Michelangelo and others can be found in the West wing.

Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait

Michelangelo Buonarroti 

17th Century paintings from Italy, Flanders, Spain and the Netherlands are displayed in the North wing and features works from masters such as Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt and Caravaggio. Paintings from the 18th and 19th century are on display in the East wing. Here you'll find

impressionist works as well as paintings by van Gogh, Seurat and Renoir.

Anthonis van Dyck Vincent Willem van Gogh