The Director's favourite paintings

Recently back on display following a lengthy and very careful restoration, this is one of the Gallery’s foundational works acquired by our first Director, Sir Charles Eastlake.

Note the spectacular array of arms and armour and horse trappings, some of them made with silver leaf. The superb frame is the work of our Framing Department led by Peter Schade.

Once thought to be by Leonardo da Vinci, this used to be one of the most famous paintings in the Gallery. Jesus is listing the points of his arguments as he engages in theological discussion with the learned doctors in the Temple in Jerusalem. Less celebrated today, it is nonetheless an impressive, carefully realised work.

Also recently conserved, this is a jewel in the collection. In spite of its small size it splendidly displays complex light effects in a nocturnal setting. It precedes Caravaggio and Georges de la Tour by more than a century.

Acquired in 1985, there was always some doubt that this portrait actually featured ‘The Balbi Children’. A recent article by the art historian, Gregory Martin, who is working on our Flemish paintings catalogue, has proposed convincingly that they are the children of another Genoese family, the Giustiniani Longos. There is always something new to learn about our paintings.

This is our first Bicentenary year acquisition and it reflects the careful archaeological research that Poussin undertook to represent the Last Supper for his series of Sacraments. The painting was made for his antiquarian friend and patron, Cassiano del Pozzo. Christ and the Apostles recline on ‘triclinia’ - the ancient Roman equivalent of a chaise longue.

This painting, the first by the artist to enter the Gallery’s collection, is one of the lead images for the Gallery’s Bicentenary campaign. The brilliant colour and the artist’s skilful combination of naturalistic and symbolistic modes in this Alpine landscape, give me a real thrill.

Our former Deputy Director, Susan Foister’s catalogue of the German paintings in the collection will be published before the end of the year. This panel is one of the most important German pictures in the Gallery and a rare work by the artist outside of Germany. Two things to note, the enormous size of the foreground figures’ footwear and the family of donors nestling on a small scale in the lower right corner – husband, wife, four boys and a girl – all kneeling in prayer.

This work is due back shortly in the Gallery after being shown in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford as part of the Bicentenary National Treasures programme. Mars is exhausted from lovemaking while Venus has managed to retain total composure and elegance. Love conquers war on the island of love in a painting of sublime skill.

A defining painting of the British tradition, Gainsborough’s sitters celebrate their recent marriage and the ownership of their estate in Suffolk. The reserved unpainted area on Mrs Andrews’ lap may have been intended for a child that had not yet been born. The painting was never completed although the couple went on to have nine offspring!

My last choice is a painting that you won’t be able to see until May 2025 when we reopen the Sainsbury Wing . It has recently been restored (after its acquisition in 2019) and the results are simply magnificent in the draperies, sky and landscape. I am immensely looking forward to having this great Baroque set piece painting back on display.