On Thursday 25^th February all four Year 2 classes left for a half day visit to the National Gallery, together with a team of parent helpers, class assistants and teachers to enjoy a special art assignment involving exploring stories within pictures.

 

 

Amidst all the excitement of the coach trip to London, the children were encouraged to look out of the windows and see how many Victorian buildings they could identify.

 

 

Another highlight on the way was seeing the high Spring tide on the Thames and the many different types of boats and cargo ships on the river, including the River Fire – Boat Station, not far from the Houses of Parliament. We also had an excellent view of the London Eye in the distance and drove straight past Big Ben, which led to excited accounts of past family experiences.

 

 

On arrival at the National Gallery, we deposited our lunch bags and coats in the cloakroom. As there was some free time, we all went off in different directions to look at some pictures in our class groups. 2C and 2J headed for the Sainsbury’s Wing, where we took a look at a picture of the story of David and Goliath and another one of George and the Dragon by Paulo Uccello. The boys were very interested in the action within the pictures; a few boys had especially wanted to see these oil paintings.

 

 

After an early lunch at 11:30am, during which the light in one classroom kept going on and off and provided a lot of amusement, we were soon ready for our guides to take us on a tour of three or four pictures as well as explaining the origin of the National Gallery and how the paintings belong to all U.K. citizens. The boys were truly interested! The guides were excellent in their rapport with our age group and knew exactly how to keep the boys attention focused on the information within the paintings. The boys listened avidly and were constantly encouraged to provide feedback to questions.

 

 

Amongst the paintings studied were:

Titian: Bacchus and Ariadne

Turner: Ulysses

Francois-Hubert Drouais: Madame de Pompadour

Poussin: The Adoration of the Golden Calf

Paulo Uccello: Saint George and the Dragon

Canaletto: The Stone Mason’s Yard

Pierre Mignard: The Marquise Seignelay and two of her sons

Jan Gossaert: The Adoration of the Kings

Luca Giordano: Perseus turning Phineas to stone. (The boys in 2C loved this dramatic picture!)

 

 

Needless to say, the boys returned to school tired but very happy after an interesting visit to the National Gallery with a better understanding of how to appreciate a work of art and the stories inside the pictures.

A huge thank you to all the parents who helped make the trip run smoothly!