Buckingham Palace’s Picture Gallery unveils expanded art display
The Royal Family’s art collection has long been one of the most impressive in the world, and now the public can see twice as many masterpieces at Buckingham Palace’s Picture Gallery. A ‘once-in-a-generation’ re-display has increased the number of paintings on show from 63 to 120, alongside new emerald-green silk wall hangings and improved lighting. The gallery reopened to visitors on Thursday, July 9, after 875 hours of careful hanging.
Newly displayed works by world-famous artists
The expanded display includes historic watercolours, photographs, inventories, and architectural schemes, as well as priceless pieces from renowned artists. The Dutch Masters feature prominently, reflecting George IV’s collection, which was one of the finest holdings of 17th-century Dutch paintings in the world. Among the highlights is ‘The Tribuna of the Uffizi’ by Johan Joseph Zoffany, a German artist active in Britain. This eclectic painting depicts the Uffizi gallery in Florence and includes depictions of works by Holbein, Rubens, and Raphael. Although commissioned by Queen Charlotte, it was never hung in her apartments as she reportedly found it overcrowded and unconventional.
Gainsborough portrait and five Rembrandts
Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of Johann Christian Fischer, a German composer and oboe player who was a member of the Queen’s Band, is thought to have never hung in the Picture Gallery before. Additionally, five paintings by Rembrandt are now displayed, demonstrating the breadth of his work, alongside one painting attributed to his studio.
Rubens portrait of Van Dyck and Gerard ter Borch’s ‘The Letter’
Peter Paul Rubens’ portrait of his star pupil Anthony Van Dyck, painted around 1627, is now hung alongside Rubens’ ‘Self Portrait’, just as it was in the 1660s at Whitehall Palace. Gerard ter Borch’s ‘The Letter’, a contemporary of Vermeer, shows an intimate scene of a woman with a letter and is displayed with Vermeer’s ‘Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman’.
Caravaggio masterpiece and other Italian works
Caravaggio’s ‘The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew’, completed by 1606, depicts a young Jesus Christ leading the brothers Peter and Andrew. It is displayed alongside other Italian, French, and Flemish masterpieces, including ‘Christ Healing the Paralysed Man’ by Van Dyck.
