The works are lent by the Tate Gallery, and it’s a fair selection, but not occupying more than a tennis court in size for the princely sum of €13. which is a bit rude, as you can wander around the Louvre for a day for not much more.
I was really there for the Turners, and the other stuff tended to confirm my prejudices as I jogged by. There were a couple of minor Stubbs (the guy with the horses and lions) and Gainsboroughs by the dozen. Reynolds always sends shivers down my spine - his portraits of children tend towards the creepily saccharine.
The Turners consisted mostly of landscapes (prints and watercolours), and a few early oils. Not quite what I was after.
Finally came the wake-up punch. Next to the Turners, like a cake with molten lava for icing was John Martin’s Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 250cm wide and burning my retinas. Not exactly polite society stuff. I loved it.
 |
| Image public domain Wikimedia |