National Gallery to let art lover stay the night among paintings
One competition winner will occupy a bed placed near the paintings on the night of May 9, to mark the gallery's 200th anniversary and celebrate the re-opening of the Sainsbury Wing.
After a prize draw which runs until 6pm on April 28, the winner will be able to invite a guest for dinner and will be given a private viewing of an exhibition.
Their bed will be positioned in the area that connects the Sainsbury Wing, which has generally housed early Renaissance paintings, with the rest of the gallery.
The Sainsbury Wing is to reopen after a two-year refurbishment on May 10, with the earliest paintings in the collection returning to the gallery.
These include Piero della Francesca's Baptism of Christ, Jacopo di Cione's 14th-century work The San Pier Maggiore Altarpiece and Paolo Uccello's recently restored The Battle Of San Romano.
The winner and a guest will be given dinner for two at Locatelli, a restaurant set to open in the museum run by Giorgio Locatelli, the Michelin-starred chef.
After the guest has left, the winner will be given a private tour of CC Land: The Wonder of Art by a curator.
When the chosen art lover wakes on May 10, they will be given a breakfast hamper, and have time to explore before the official re-opening of the Sainsbury Wing at 10am.
CC Land: The Wonder of Art is a rehanging of works spanning the Western European tradition from the 13th to 20th centuries.
Paintings by Claude Monet, the French impressionist; Titian, the Italian Renaissance master; Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, the Flemish painters; Rembrandt van Rijn, the Dutch painter; and Thomas Gainsborough, the British landscape painter, will be kept in their own dedicated rooms.
Current subscribers to the gallery's newsletter will be automatically entered to the prize draw, and anyone else can visit nationalgallery.org.uk/subscribe/wake-up.
The gallery was opened overnight to the public during the Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers exhibition in January, which allowed slots to be booked from 9pm until 10am.
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The South Western French city, known as La Ville Rose (The Pink City) for the terracotta tinge that defines its buildings, offers visitors new insights in all varieties, be they cultural, culinary, historical or future-looking. I was lucky enough to be invited to visit this great city and couldn't recommend it more as a year-round getaway for those wanting an eye-opening, stomach filling and brain stimulating experience. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Visiting Toulouse, the quirky and captivating French city. | FINN A distinctly French city but with a more modern and inviting complexion, Toulouse was crowned a UNESCO 'City of Music' destination in 2023 for the emphasis it places on supporting musicians and live music; while the continued association with the aeronautical world also adds to its essence as a place where life reaches upward. 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La Machine is a French performance art company known for its large-scale, mechanical creatures, including a giant spider called "La Princesse" | National World Javaloyas's background as a surrealist artist and experience in Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as his close, familial ties to the city, endowed his ability to captivate us tour-goers, and made his preparation of the food that bit more assured. Whether it was a pain au chocolat - or 'chocolatine' as the locals insist - crystallised violet sweets, Toulouse sausage or toasted baguette with goose spread, we felt in safe hands. After a quick break, my companions and I ventured outside the fairy-tale confines of the city to the Montaudran district, which is being heavily modernised after its long-standing association with Aéropostale since the 1930s. One of its central features is La Halle de la Machine, where you can discover a collection of street theatre contraptions designed and made by La Machine Company. 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Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cité de l'Espace is well worth a visit and a great representation of Toulouse's close association with aerospace. | Rémi Deligeon In both cases, the food was definitely rich and indulgent, with the mushroom risotto at Monsieur Georges going above and beyond in terms of flavour and portion size, and the evening meal showcasing locally sourced, sustainable ingredients with superb effect. There was also more touring and exploring to be done with the help of the enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff from the Tourist Office situated at Square Charles de Gaulle, who gave us further insight around the city's endlessly walkable streets before taking us to La Cité de l'espace. Situated on the outskirts, this interactive discovery centre features flight simulators, a telescope and planetarium to give you as close an experience as you can to touching the stars. There's also a beautiful garden area with a lunar rover and an old space station that is great to walk around.
