NATIONAL GALLERY OF IRELAND

An excellent museum where you can easily spend half a day. Built in 1854, the National Gallery opened its doors to the public in January 1864. Its superb collection includes many masterpieces by Irish masters and artists from the great European schools of painting. The gallery has four wings: Beit, Milltown, Dargan and the beautiful Millennium Wing. The^first level is almost exclusively devoted to Irish and English painters. During the ^17th and ^18th centuries, the strong influence of English painting on Irish art is noticeable. Indeed, most Irish painters sold their paintings in England and many lived there. View of Powerscourt Waterfall by the landscape painter George Barret, The Conjuror by Nathaniel Hone or the self-portrait by James Barry illustrate this period. In room 17, it is impossible to miss Francis Danby's imposing work, The Opening of the Sixth Seal, and in room 18, Richard Thomas Moynan's Military Manoeuvres. From the end of the ^19th century, Irish painting became more emancipated and drew on new influences, notably from the French Impressionists. The post-impressionist landscapes of Roderic O'Connor, who came to paint in France, are noteworthy. Room 21 is entirely dedicated to Jack B. Yeats whose works are exceptional. Illustrating the horror and devastation of war, Grief (1951) is one of his most famous expressionist paintings. Room 22 features portraits, as well as the largest painting in the collection: The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife by Daniel Maclise.

Next, we recommend that you head to the Millennium Wing. Here you will be able to see the evolution of painting in Ireland in a continuous way. The influence of the French impressionists is evident in many of the works, notably those of William Leech, or in the landscapes of Paul Henry. Not to be missed is the room devoted to William Orpen, one of the most recognized artists of this period, who painted The Holy Well, a complex satire of Western Ireland. But also Sean Keating, Margaret Clarke, Patrick Tuohy... Then comes the rise of modernism and its influence on Irish art and the works of Mainie Jellett, Norah McGuinness, Mary Swanzy, Jack B. Yeats..

In the rooms devoted to English art, one can admire The Dublin Volunteers on College Green by Frances Wheatley (1779) and Mrs Greeve with her Children by Philip Reinagle (1782). Room 9 displays a sublime portrait by Gainsborough, The Cottage Girl.

On level 2, works by the great European masters are on display. At the top of the staircase are paintings by Spanish artists - El Greco, Goya, Velázquez... then Italian painting is honored through masterpieces such as Titian's unmistakable Ecce Homo, where Christ is represented suffering, with a tear on his cheek. Without forgetting the works of Bellini, Mazzolini, Perugino, Becafumi..

Then it's the turn of French painting; Jules Breton's Gleaners by Monet, paintings by Signac, Poussin, Fragonard... and paintings by foreign artists who have painted in France, such as Picasso.

In the Milltown wing, Flemish and Dutch painting is illustrated through works by Jordaens, Rubens, Rembrandt, Bruegel... Room 40, don't miss A Lady Writing a Letter and Her Maid, a masterpiece by Vermeer.