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ABOVE: THE GREAT GALLERY AT HERTFORD HOUSE |
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On Tuesday I managed to finally go and visit Hertford House in the center of London to check out the wonderful Wallace Collection. And unlike my last museum outing I was able to take many pictures. The Wallace Collection is a fine art collection in London open to the public, housed at Hertford House just behind the top end of Baker Street, the Oxford Street end. It's the former town house of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. First established in 1897 as a private collection created by the 4th Marquess of Hertford who later handed the entire collection to his illegitimate son, Sir Richard Wallace who then in turn left it to his widow who decided to bequeath the whole collection to the Nation, first going on display in 1900. And looking around the many rooms, there's definitely a hint of 18th century French opulence. As well as some fine well known paintings the house also holds many statue busts as well as some rather grand looking furniture. And there's also a large collection of battle armour in the European Armour Galleries. I did wonder though if the Gallery organizers were playing down a very active building restoration project, saying on their website that there may be some building repairs being carried out. In fact the entire front of Hertford House was completely covered up so I was not able to get a picture of the outdoor front of the House. Fortunately the main big Great Gallery had just reopened as I got there just after 2.00 pm, having been closed all morning for repairs. And of course I didn't want to miss The Great Gallery which houses some of the finest paintings in the collection. You can find out more about this wonderful collection below. THE WALLACE COLLECTION LONDON |
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Above: Almost the first room as you enter the House is the very impressive Front State Room. |
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Above: The Laughing Cavalier by FRANS HALS ( 1584 - 1666 ) Situated in The Great Gallery. |
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Above: The Back State Room. |
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(Above) VENICE: The Bacino di San Marco from the Canale della Giudecca. By CANALETTO (1697 - 1768 ) Italian, c. 1735 - 44 In the image below and to the left of the Canaletto is Diego Velazquez's LADY WITH A FAN, painted between 1638 - 1639. Velazquez was King Philip IV of Spain's favourite Court painter, although the identity of the Lady in the painting is still a mystery. |
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Above, and situated at the far end of The Great Gallery is 'THE SHEPHERD PARIS' by ANTHONY VAN DYCK. Painted in 1628. |
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| Above and below: Some spectacular French 19th century opulence situated in The Large Drawing Room. The room itself has the most dramatic looking chandelier throughout Hertford House. And there's also a wonderful marble bust ( below left ) of the master of early French opulence, Louis XIV King of France ( 1638 - 1715 ). |
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Above: TITUS, THE ARTIST'S SON by REMBRANDT ( created in 1657). Painting situated in The East Gallery 1. Titus, the only surviving child of Rembrandt, aged around sixteen. Unlike other paintings by the great Dutch artist, the authenticity of this portrait has never been questioned. |
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| Above: From The Dutch Golden Age is 'A WOMAN PEELING APPLES' by Pieter de Hooch. (1663). |
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Above: The Rainbow Landscape by PETER PAUL RUBENS. Flanders, c. 1636. oil on oak panel. Situated in The Great Gallery. |
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Below: The Dining Room. |
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Above and Below: The Purple Room, known as The West Gallery III. Below is it's eye catching center piece painting by ARY SCHEFFER a Dutch-French romantic Painter. The work is titled 'FRANCESCA DI RIMINI AND PAULO MALATESTA APPRAISED BY DANTE AND VIRGIL.' (1835 ). |
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| Below: Situated in The Front State Room is (left) The young Queen Victoria by Thomas Sully ( 1783-1872). Below (right) George IV as Prince of Wales. By John Hoppner (1758-1810). |
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Above: A member of The House staff gives an educational tour around the Galleries to a group of visitors. |
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Below (left) A Self Portrait by Rembrandt (1637). Below (right) Boy With a Hawk by Johannes van Noordt. |
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Above: Just one of the many exhibits on display in THE EUROPEAN ARMOUR GALLERY. |
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Above: The front of Hertford House all covered up and with building restoration taking place. So I was not able to get a shot of the front of the House. Below: This is what Hertford House really looks like. Image by Anthony O'Neil. |
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Just behind Hertford House in nearby George Street I saw this wonderful Gothic looking Church. Of course I couldn't resist snapping away a few pictures. And the inside of this St James's Church looked quite spectacular, almost Cathedral like. |
