Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nearby are the foundations of the 13th-century Blackfriars Priory OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP ,
which was destroyed in 1404 when Owain Glyndŵr attacked Cardiff, and later rebuilt,
only to be finally vacated in 1538 when the monasteries were dissolved.
National Museum Cardiff
OFFLINE MAP
MUSEUM
GOOGLE MAP
( www.museumwales.ac.uk ; Gorsedd Gardens Rd; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun) Devoted mainly to natural
history and art, this grand neoclassical building is the centrepiece of the seven institutions
dotted around the country that together form the Welsh National Museum. It's one of Bri-
tain's best museums; you'll need at least three hours to do it justice, but it could easily
consume the best part of a rainy day.
The Evolution of Wales exhibit whizzes onlookers through 4600 million years of geolo-
gical history, its rollicking multimedia display placing Wales into a global context. Films
of volcanic eruptions and aerial footage of the Welsh landscape explain how its scenery
was formed, while model dinosaurs and woolly mammoths help keep the kids interested.
The natural-history displays range from brightly coloured insects to the 9m-long skelet-
on of a humpback whale that washed up near Aberthaw in 1982. The world's largest turtle
(2.88m by 2.74m), a leatherback which was found on Harlech beach, is also here, suspen-
ded on wires from the ceiling.
The art gallery houses an excellent collection, with a large new space devoted to con-
temporary exhibitions. Older works include portraits dating as far back as the Tudor era,
and paintings by El Greco and Poussin. Welsh artists such as Gwen and Augustus John,
Richard Wilson, Thomas Jones, David Jones and Ceri Richards are well represented,
along with famous names from across the border such as Francis Bacon, David Hockney
and Rachel Whiteread.
Many impressionist and post-impressionist pieces were bequeathed to the museum in
1952 and 1963 by the Davies sisters, Gwendoline and Margaret, granddaughters of 19th-
century coal and shipping magnate David Davies. One room is devoted to their collection
of seven paintings by British master JMW Turner, which were dismissed as fakes in the
1950s but recently reappraised to have been genuine all along. Other treasures include lu-
minous works by Pissaro; a trio of Monet's Water Lilies , alongside his scenes of London,
Rouen and Venice; Sisley's The Cliff at Penarth (the artist was married in Cardiff); and
portraits by Renoir, including the shimmering La Parisienne . The sisters' favourite was
Cézanne, but there are also works by Matisse and the anguished Rain: Auvers by Van
 
 
 
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search