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Dr Ludwig Mond

In 1909 the chemist and art collector, Dr Ludwig Mond (1839-1909), bequeathed his collection of 42 pictures to the National Gallery.

Mond's collection included paintings by Raphael, Titian, Bellini and Cranach among many others. In 1928 the Mond Room was built with the aid of a grant from the estate of Dr Mond to house his collection of paintings.

After the end of the Second World War, the National Gallery and the Mond family agreed to distribute the bequest throughout the collection.  A plaque with an inscription was placed in the Mond Room as a permanent memorial to the generosity of Ludwig Mond.

Selected works from the Mond Bequest

The Virgin suckling the Infant Christ
The Virgin suckling the Infant Christ
Titian
The Virgin Mary gazes at the infant Christ who feeds from her breast. The naked child is encircled in his mother’s arms and twists away from us. Our eye is drawn from the Virgin’s delicate fingers, up the line of Christ’s back and to the expression of devotion on her face.Titian appears to be cit...
Room 29
The Mond Crucifixion
The Mond Crucifixion
Raphael
One of Raphael’s earliest works, this altarpiece was commissioned by the wool merchant and banker Domenico Gavari for his burial chapel dedicated to Saint Jerome in the church of S. Domenico in Città di Castello, Umbria.Christ’s body hangs from the Cross. Two angels balance on delicate slivers of...
Room 11
A Blonde Woman
A Blonde Woman
Palma Vecchio
A voluptuous woman regards us with an inviting sidelong glance that is both reticent and willing. She unveils her charms, and as she does so offers us a posy of flowers. Her chemise has fallen from her shoulder to reveal her breast, the curve of which is emphasised by the line of her blue silk ri...
Not on display
Primitive People
Primitive People
Lucas Cranach the Elder
The subject of this painting has been much debated, but it’s generally thought to show an imagined view of a past and primitive society. Cranach made a number of similar paintings from 1527 to 1535. Since the twentieth century it has been assumed that the origin of the subject lies in a classical...
Not on display
Salome
Salome
Giampietrino
The subject is taken from the New Testament (Mark 6: 22–9) and shows Salome being presented with the head of Christ’s cousin, Saint John the Baptist. The swarthy executioner dangles the severed head by its hair above a dish; Salome turns away as if she cannot bear to look at the prize King Herod...
Not on display
Saints Peter and Paul
Saints Peter and Paul
Carlo Crivelli
Two saints, Peter and Paul, are deep in conversation over an open book, one pointing out a particular passage to the other. This painting comes from a polyptych – an altarpiece made of a number of panels – painted for the high altar of parish church of Porto San Giorgio, the harbour of the city o...
Not on display
The Virgin adoring the Child with Saint Joseph
The Virgin adoring the Child with Saint Joseph
Fra Bartolommeo
In this painting intended for private devotion, Fra Bartolommeo emphasises the humble circumstances of Christ’s birth. The Virgin kneels on the ground before the newborn Christ, while barefoot Saint Joseph watches over the baby. The makeshift stable made from the ruins of a classical building sta...
Room 10
The Adoration of the Kings
The Adoration of the Kings
Dosso Dossi
Unusually, Dosso has set the Adoration of the Kings at night, which provided opportunities for the flickering brushwork for which he is noted. The huge harvest moon with a pink aureole, traversed by storm clouds, casts a mysterious golden light that picks out features of the fortified town in the...
Room 10