“The National Gallery”

By Jessie Heller

The National Gallery’s gift shop is currently devoted to Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers.” Recognizing the image from so many similar copies, I quickly searched for the special exhibit’s “queue.”  The exhibit left no aspect uncovered; it contained to versions of the famous painting, with X-rays and comparisons of every inch of them.

Leaving the exhibit, I walked into the next room, which was more open and brightly lit. Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas and more Van Gogh. Right here, right in front of me, I could examine Monet’s brush strokes. Not being much of an art historian, I admittedly had never heard of Cezanne or Degas, but these were the paintings I clung to. Cezanne’s work detailed shading under a woman’s tired cheekbones. Degas’ bold reds bleed into each other. With more left to discover, I’ll definitely return.

“Sir John Soane’s Museum”

By Christine Murray

London’s free museums are loaded to the brim with so many awe-inspiring artefacts that it would take months to explore them all. One of them, Sir John Soane’s Museum, is definitely worth the trip. Admission is free, and the house is exactly as Sir John left it when he died in 1837, leaving the house to a board of trustees on behalf of the nation. I entered not knowing what to expect and was delighted by rooms filled with pictures, halls of books, even a large sculpture. A sarcophagus was the farthest item from my mind, but nonetheless I saw one there, too. The John Soane’s Museum is located in Holborn, next to Lincoln’s Inn Fields, where you can wander afterward for a quick stroll.