The National Gallery’s new exhibition looks at some extraordinary paintings through the artists who collected the paintings. But does the exhibition win over the critics?
The Guardian:**** Jonathan Jones described the exhibition as: “a refreshingly grown up show.”
The Telegraph: ****Mark Hudson wrote: “The show is a wonderful demonstration of the fact that in the minds of artists all art is intimately connected. ”
Evening Standard:*** Ben Luke found that: “Painters’ Paintings offers the tantalising prospect of a glimpse behind the artist’s vision.”
The Times: **** Rachel Campbell-Johnston commented: “Imagine an art collector. You may conjure an image of some big, boastful banker or brash oligarch, yet such clichés are mere footnotes to a far more penetrating story.”
The exhibition examines why painters such as Freud,Matisse, Degas, Leighton and Van Dyck collected other painters work and what happened when their collection entered public collections.
This display feature more than 80 pieces of art, spanning over 500 years of art history and including pieces such as Freud’s 2002 ‘Self Portrait: Reflection’ to Bellini’s Agony in the Garden of about 1465.
Painters’ Paintings: From Freud to Van Dyck will run at the National Gallery from the 23rd June until the 4th September. For more information and to book tickets visit: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/painters-paintings