On Thursday 25th May, a group of OBs and their guests enjoyed a wonderful trip to The Courtauld Gallery, one of London’s must-see art museums situated in Somerset House. The Gallery is particularly renowned for its unrivalled collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, including masterpieces by Monet, Van Gogh and Gauguin and the largest collection of Cézannes in the UK. It was a gloriously sunny day and we saw a marvellous collection of works of art from the early Renaissance into the 20th century, with well-known gems such as Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Renoir’s La Loge (The Theatre Box), to name but a few.
We’d like to thank our host, Dr Barnaby Wright (84-93), who gave a very informative talk on the various eras and, with his tremendous knowledge and passion for the subject matter, made us look at the works of art with a fresh pair of eyes and see details which one would never spot on their own – helping to really understand the artist.
The tour was followed by a delicious two-course lunch in the outside courtyard Gallery Café, giving everyone the opportunity to catch up and discuss their own personal highlights from the gallery. After lunch, everyone then had the opportunity to further explore the gallery at their own pace.