Student Night - The Wallace Collection

Last Friday I went to a private view of the Wallace Collection and it was amazing! I have never seen such spectacular rooms in my life, or been in such a building. I had a lovely guided tour and learnt a lot about Romantic art in France and the Netherlands, and also there was a really adorable lady dressed as Madame Pompadour and she was really interesting too.

The way the rooms were decorated and arranged was probably the best bit - they had bright, decorated wall paper with a mish-mash of art hanging from the walls, it felt grand and overbearing but in a good way.

There was even the chance to make venitian masks and have your face painted, which I missed out on by being too late, however the whole evening was a really good way to get student to go to the Wallace collection, because not many people know its there or what it is, even though it houses some famous works by Rembrant, Fragonard and Boucher, including 'The Swing', which is one of the most notable pieces from the French Romantic movement.

Our tour guide was so informative, she was telling us how you can tell the difference between an actual Rembrant and something from Rembrant's workshop (see two pictures below), and how the skill and darkness and shading used by Rembrant is above and beyond anything that his workshop could achieve.

It's definitely a place to go and visit, whether its just for the grandeur of the building itself, the beauty of the paintings or to see some of the famous works there, its a beautiful collection that more people need to know about.

(Piece by Rembrant himself)

(Piece by Rembrants workshop)