Friday, February 8, 2019

National Gallery of Art

Battle Scene - Phillip Wouwerman
With a son living in the other Washington (D.C., that is), our occasional travels to the Capitol always include visits to the Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery. 

A regular stop, not to be missed by me, is the National Gallery of Art.  Upon every visit, the same selection of works always catches my attention.  Sometimes, I stumble upon these familiar works as I roam the massive museum.  Other times, I seek them out and try to recall in which wing of the Gallery these works are kept.  Some of my favorite works follow:
David's Napoleon
Haarlem Civic Guard - Frans Hals
Andies Stilte as Standard Bearer - Verspronck
Vincenzo Cappello - Titian
Meeting of David and Abigail - Rubens
Zenobia Queen of Palmyra
Rialto Bridge, Venice - Guardi
Fortress Konigstein - Belotti
The National Gallery of Art is a national treasure and should be included in any visit to Washington D.C..

30 comments:

  1. You've got a great habit! Classical painting is amazing! Isn't they?

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  2. Whenever I travel I find I am always drawn back to the same paintings, not only to see whether I can find anything I may have missed in previous visits but also to remind myself that these images actually do physically exist.

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  3. These and similar classic paintings are simply fascinating. You are lucky to be able to see them in person regularly.

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    1. Great paintings but still about 3,000 miles away so not visited as often as I like.

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  4. Wonderful masterpieces. Hope to visit the gallery someday. I'm amazed that the famous painting of Napoleon isn't in France! :)

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    1. I hope you visit this great museum, Dean. I was surprised to see the David there too.

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  5. All excellent pieces. Last time I went it was the Shaw memorial (54th Mass sculpture) that really kept my eye.

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  6. Wonderful works Jonathan. Whenever I visit the great galleries I am always tempted to ask the attendants where the display those great works of the 1970s and 80s of ships or dusky maidens painted on velvet, but every time the temptation comes my way her indoors drags me away...very unfiair I think.

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  7. That's great piece of art!
    Thank You sir!

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    1. You are welcome, Michal! Glad you enjoyed the selective museum tour.

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  8. Some lovely artwork Jonathan...
    It is interesting how high the waistline is shown on the Haarlem Civic Guard and the Andries Stilte pieces... something you rarely see on wargame miniatures.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Lovely works in the National Gallery. They do wear the sashes rather high, don’t they?

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  9. Beautiful inspiration....thankfully I only have to paint at 28 mm😬

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    1. Happy to provide some inspiration! Only one scale? You are a lucky one.

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  10. Some great canvasses there, Jon. The painting of Zenobia was new to me; suitable inspiration for my Palmyran army!

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    1. Glad to provide inspiration for your Palmyran Army, Peter!

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  11. Always nice to go to an Art gallery and this one looks like it has some interesting content!
    Best Iain

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    1. Great content and painting inspiration in this galllery.

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  12. Great post. Some very inspiring paintings.

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  13. I didn't knew that the Königsstein by Bellotto is in Washington. If I remember it right, it was one of the later paintings from Bellottos time in Dresden. His style of painting is always impressive and can drag the viewer in the scenery. Unfortunately I couldn't find the position, where he painted it, when I was in Königsstein and on the fortress.
    I prefer Bellotto's Bavarian and Austrian paintings. His paintings in Poland are too dark for my taste.

    Cheers,

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    1. I was certainly drawn in by this work. You have given me motivation to explore his Bavarian and Austrian paintings.

      Thank you for commenting and bringing this to my attention.

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