1: Opening up the North 

As part of the National Gallery's bicentenary celebrations, the Sainsbury Wing, originally opened in 1991, has been substantially restructured, making it more open, more welcoming, and, let's hope, more accessible. It has also been radically rehung, as the History of Art has changed substantially over the past 34 years. Ernst Gombrich published The Story of Art in 1950 - and one of the things that has become clear is that art does not have a singular story: there are far more stories to tell. The structure of the Sainsbury Wing allows you to move through it freely - and with the new hang you can discover your own 'Stories of Art' as you walk from room to room. Over this series of three talks I am going to pick three routes through the space to tell three different 'stories'.  

For the first week, after an initial introduction to the space, we will look at the art of Northern Europe, which gains a far higher status in this new hang - it is potentially among the first things you will see, rather than having to wait until you reach the far ends of the space: itt is no longer an 'adjunct' to the story of the Italian Renaissance.

From the early, gold-ground years, it charts the fundamental developments of Jan van Eyck and the Flemish school, including a truly surprising recent acquisition, and carries on to the until it reaches the polished splendour of Durer and Cranach. 

You can book for these three talks individually, or, via a separate link, if you book all three together there is a reduced price.