News Lower Sixth History of Art Trip to the National Gallery 19.06.2025

On Friday the Lower Sixth History of Art students visited the National Gallery, to study paintings pertinent to their A Level units in the context of the gallery’s new hangings and the illuminating comparisons provided by its permanent collection. Led by Dr Williams and Dr Vicenik, they inspected, discussed and documented aspects of paintings that can only be appreciated in front of the physical artworks, such as the reflection of light off gold leaf in altarpieces like Lorenzo Monaco’s Coronation of the Virgin, the illusion of flesh in Campin’s oil paintings, or the brushwork in Turner’s Rain, Steam and Speed and Monet’s Bathers at La Grenouillère. The students were enthusiastic and on their mettle throughout the visit.