Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
came to the heady events in Paris that year. Famous alumni include Carlos the Jackal,
Cherie Booth (wife of ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair) and Mick Jagger.
Somerset House
Strand •
Fountain Court
Daily 7.30am-11pm • Free
Riverside terrace
Daily 8am-6pm • Free Guided tours Thurs 1.15 & 2.45pm,
Sat 1.15, 2.15, 3.15 & 4.15pm • Free
Embankment galleries
Daily 10am-6pm • £6 •
T
020 7845 4600,
W
somersethouse.org.uk •
!
Temple or Covent Garden
Somerset House
is the
sole survivor of the grandiose river palaces that once lined the
Strand, its four wings enclosing a large courtyard rather like a Parisian
hôtel
. Although
it looks like an old aristocratic mansion, the present building was, in fact, purpose-built
in 1776 by William Chambers, to house governmental o
ces (including the Navy
O
ce). Nowadays, Somerset House's granite-paved courtyard is a great place to relax
thanks to its fab 55-jet
fountain
that spouts straight from the cobbles, and does a little
syncopated dance every half-hour (daily 10am-11pm). The courtyard is also used for
open-air performances, concerts, installations and, in winter, an ice rink.
The north wing houses the permanent collection of the
Courtauld Institute
,
best
known for its outstanding Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. The south
wing has a lovely riverside terrace with a café-restaurant and the
Embankment Galleries
,
which host innovative special exhibitions on contemporary art and design. Before you
head off to one of the collections, however, make sure you go and admire the Royal
Naval Commissioners' superb gilded eighteenth-century barge in the
King's Barge
House
, below ground level in the south wing.
8
Courtauld Gallery
Somerset House, Strand • Daily 10am-6pm, occasional Thurs until 9pm • £6 (Mon £3) •
T
020 7848 2526,
W
courtauld.ac.uk •
!
Temple or Covent Garden
Founded in 1931 as part of the University of London, the Courtauld Institute
was
the first body in Britain to award degrees in art history as an academic subject. It's
most famous, however, for the
Courtauld Gallery
, which displays its priceless art
collection, whose virtue is quality rather than quantity. Best known for its superlative
Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, the Courtauld also owns a fine array of
earlier works by the likes of Rubens, Botticelli, Bellini and Cranach the Elder and gives
regular talks throughout the year.
The displays currently start on the
ground floor
with a small room devoted to
medieval religious paintings. Next, you ascend the beautiful, semicircular
staircase
to
the first-floor galleries, whose exceptional plasterwork ceilings recall their original use
as the learned societies' meeting rooms. This is where the cream of the Courtauld's
collection is currently displayed: rehangings have become more frequent, however, so
ask if you can't find a particular painting.
The first floor galleries
To follow the collection chronologically, start in room 2, where you'll find two splendid
fifteenth-century Florentine
cassoni
(chests), with their original backrests, and a large
Botticelli
altarpiece commissioned by a convent and refuge for repentant prostitutes;
hence Mary Magdalene's pole position below the Cross. You can also admire
Lucas
Cranach the Elder
's
Adam and Eve
,
one of the highlights of the collection, with the Saxon
painter revelling in the visual delights of Eden. Works by
Rubens
dominate room 3,
ranging from oil sketches for church frescoes to large-scale late works, plus a winningly
informal portrait of his close friend Jan Brueghel the Elder and family. Also in this room
hangs
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
's
Landscape with Flight into Egypt
, a small canvas once
owned by Rubens. Further on, there are works by Goya, Reynolds, Romney, Tiepolo
and an affectionate portrait by
Gainsborough
of his wife, painted in his old age.
The cream of the gallery's
Impressionist
works occupy the next few rooms, with room
5 devoted to
Cézanne
and featuring his characteristically lush landscapes and one of his
