The Dulwich Art Gallery is not a short trip: there is no subway in Dulwich, and it is either by train or car from central London. However, the gallery’s treasures are guaranteed to make connoisseurs forget the effort involved.
The history of this oldest public art gallery in England is curious. It was founded as part of a boys’ college in 1605 by the actor and successful businessman Edward Alleyne. But its most powerful impetus came at the end of the eighteenth century, when the last King of Poland, Stanislaus-Augustus, commissioned two merchants, Francis Bourgeois and Noel Dezanfan, to purchase paintings for the Polish national collection. Bourgeois and Desanfant tried to sell it, but without success. Eventually it was bequeathed to the college founded by Alleyn on terms of a special gallery for it, designed by the architect Sir John Soane.
The gallery opened in 1815 and immediately distinguished itself among art museums by the ingenious lighting solutions of Sone: the architect covered the roof with huge glass lanterns, which allowed maximum use of natural light. Students at the London School of Art fell in love with painting copies of paintings here. Among those students were John Constable, William Turner, and Vincent van Gogh. The building was badly damaged during the Second World War by FAU rockets, it was repaired and expanded in 1953 and in 1999. After the last renovation, the gallery was opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
Today, the local collection includes excellent examples of Baroque European painting of the 17th and early 18th centuries. There are Dutch school of painting (Rembrandt, Willem van de Velde, Adrian van de Velde, Albert Cape), English school (Gainsborough, Hogarth, Reynolds, Constable), Flemish (Rubens, Van Dyck), French (Fragonard, Poussin, Watteau), Italians (Canaletto, Guido Reni, Rafael). Although the gallery is small, its collection is undoubtedly one of the most important collections of Old Masters paintings in the world. Its reputation has led to unexpected results: on New Year’s Eve 1966 eight paintings, including three by Rembrandt, were stolen. All of them, however, were found and returned.
Next to the gallery is the Chapel of Christ, consecrated in 1616. On its north wall is a copy of Raphael’s Transfiguration, believed to have been painted by one of the master’s assistants. The interior of the chapel is characterized by lush wooden carvings – the church pews are decorated with remarkable three-dimensional images of angels, lions, dragons, oxen, and dogs. The organ here was built by George England in 1759 – it is the oldest surviving instrument of the famous organ master.
Visitors can get acquainted with the works of Rembrandt, Antoine Watteau, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Paul Rubens and Raphael. It is in this museum you can see the richest collection of portraits of famous British painters.