Be selective

Corot to Monet
National Gallery, until 20 September

In the basement of the Sainsbury Wing is a free exhibition of paintings subtitled ‘A Fresh Look at Landscape from the Collection’. I always enjoy the rehanging of old favourites in new combinations because it not only reminds us of why we liked them in the first place but often allows us to see them in a new light, too. Different paintings hung together can arouse unaccustomed resonances, but it has to be done well, or the eye can be overwhelmed and the intended effects spoiled. Although this show contains many fine things, it projects a feeling of clutter, an air of academic overkill. I wanted to enjoy it more than I did, but with over 90 exhibits there were simply too many pictures.

So the best approach is a highly selective one: don’t try to look at everything with the same degree of attention, but single out individual pictures that catch your eye. The following are some of my selections, beginning with the first room, which is devoted to views of Rome and its surroundings. And it must be said at once that Corot comes very well out of this show. Here’s a lovely early study by him of the Roman Campagna with the Claudian Aqueduct, an informal grouping of trees, sky and distant hills in marvellous blues and ochres. There’s also a fine cloudscape by de Valenciennes, a dramatic sunset by Simon Denis (also other things by him), and an intriguing unfinished Reinagle of the Aurelian Wall. A number of these pictures are on long-term loan from the Gere Collection and include many unfamiliar names, as well as anonymous or attributed items. Anton Sminck van Pitloo is not usually a name to conjure with, despite its assertive ring. And don’t miss the Welshman in Naples, Thomas Jones.

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