The National Gallery: Masterpieces of Painting

A celebration of European painting from the thirteenth to the early twentieth century.

The National Gallery, London, houses one of the finest collections of western European paintings in the world. Its extraordinary range includes masterpieces from the early medieval and Renaissance periods to Post-Impressionism, by artists such as Leonardo, Raphael, Holbein, Titian, Velázquez, Rembrandt, Turner, Monet and Van Gogh. This beautiful book presents more than 275 of the Gallery's most treasured pictures including some outstanding recent acquisitions. Each work is richly illustrated, many with full page details, and accompanied by a concise, illuminating text. Like the collection itself, the paintings are arranged broadly by date, offering an unrivalled overview of European painting through seven centuries and allowing the reader to make fascinating connections across this uniquely representative collection.

An introduction by Gabriele Finaldi provides a history of the Gallery from its beginnings in a London townhouse to its present landmark position in Trafalgar Square.