The lifestyle series:
The lifestyle series takes a look at what’s hot and must sees in London and around the world under five main headings – What, Where, Why, When and Anything Else.
What is it?
Dutch flowers is a new major exhibition, which opened 6th April at The National Gallery, which through twenty-two works, examines the origins of the genre, to the height of its popularity in the Dutch Golden Age and its final flowering in the late eighteenth century.
Where is it?
Dutch Flowers will be held at The National Gallery until 29th August 2016 and even better its free.
Why visit?
Coinciding with the flower shows at Chelsea and Hampton Court, the exhibition explores Dutch flower painting from its beginnings in the early seventeenth century to its peak in the late eighteenth century and is the first display of its kind in 20 years. At the turn of the seventeenth century, Netherlandish painters such as Jan Brueghel the Elder, Ambrosius Bosschaert and Roelandt Savery were among the first artists to produce paintings that exclusively depicted flowers. The sudden emergence of this genre is undoubtedly linked to the development of scientific interest in botany and horticulture at the close of the sixteenth century.
When should I go there?
Our top tip is to visit The National Gallery in the morning before the crowds. That way, you can treat yourself to a delicious lunch or afternoon tea at The Savoy!
Anything else?
What not see the real Dutch Flowers up close and personal and visit the Keukenhof. Perhaps the most famous of Dutch gardens as well as the largest flower park in the world, the Keukenhof is located between Amsterdam and The Hague. For devotees of the bulb, this is the perfect place to start a garden tour as over seven million are planted every year resulting in long vistas of colour and scent - swathes of irises, lilies, roses, carnations, orchids, hyacinths mix with tulips and daffodils to bedazzle the eye. There are also gardens for everyone - vegetable, romantic, beach, historical, vintage, sensory and even a Delfts Blauw Garden which is a joy in blue and white. Travel to Amsterdam by train with Voyages-sncf.com from just £81 per person standard class return.
Contributor: Alexandra Pinhorn – Photographs: The National Gallery, London
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