Description: The Art Gallery at the Courtauld Institute of Art is one of a number of galleries at Somerset House. Located on the Strand and facing Victoria Embankment, the Gallery is very centrally located in London.
The Courtauld is also a teaching institution for art students. The Gallery is best known for is impressionist and post-impressionist collection, but it has a number of excellent works from early Renaissance through to the 20th century.
Admission is charged for the gallery. For two adults and two children, we paid £10. The entire gallery can easily be viewed. The various rooms are set out on different floors. There are informative descriptions set out near the paintings and other art works. On the day we visited, there was an exhibit of the Baroque Italian painter, Tiepolo. The exhibit was included with the admission. Like the rest of the gallery, the exhibit was very informative about the style and methods of this painter, well known for his sumptuous paintings on ceilings. Unlike most art galleries, the Courtauld allows photographs to be taken as long as no flash is used.
The Courtauld has a more intimate feel than the vast National Gallery in London. The rooms are not huge and most have windows where you can view the courtyard of Somerset House. The location is lovely and the art pleasing at this lesser-known location.
London is full of world-class art galleries, but a trip to the Courtauld is well worth an art-lover's time.
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