This is the subject hub for the V&A Paintings collection which includes superlative holdings of British watercolours and portrait miniatures as well as over 2,000 British and European oil paintings.
History of the paintings collection
The Paintings collection was an original part of the Museum of Ornamental Art, later re-named the Victoria and Albert Museum, which opened at South Kensington in June 1857.…
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The Raphael Cartoons
The Raphael Cartoons were commissioned from the great Italian Renaissance painter Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520) in 1515 by Pope Leo X (reigned 1513-21). They were planned as f…
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Studies for 'The Hay Wain', by John Constable, 1821
Originally exhibited under the title 'Landscape: Noon', the finished painting was referred to by Constable's friend Archdeacon Fisher as 'The Haywain' as early as February …
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'Young Man Among Roses' by Nicholas Hilliard (1547–1619)
Nicholas Hilliard's 'Young Man Among Roses' has come to epitomise the romantic vision of the sonnet hero of Shakespeare's England. Tall, with handsome features, curly dark …
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A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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The Painted World: From Illumination to Abstraction (Paperback)
The Painted World takes the outstanding collections of the V&A as the starting point for an all-inclusive survey of painting from the Middle Ages …
Buy nowEvent - The Age of Vermeer: The Art of Interiors
Thu 04 July 2013 10:30
4 WEEK SHORT COURSE: Investigate Vermeer’s work and that of his close contemporaries, together with an examination of Northern European architecture, design and decorative arts.
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