A Glimpse Into Two London Museums
Jun 1, 2013 9:37:55 GMT
Post by lugg on Jun 1, 2013 9:37:55 GMT
There are so many great museums in London, but I have a real affection for the Victoria and Albert -V & A. …
www.vam.ac.uk/
This last weekend I was able to visit it twice –double the pleasure. My first visit was on a Friday evening; the V&A building is open until 22.00 hrs but not all the galleries are open. The place takes on a different atmosphere at night with live music and dance and a popular bar.
So a quick two hour visit with my son with the aim wandering through the Medieval / Renaissance section and then anything else that caught our fancy. I revisited again on Sunday during the day with my niece and sister for a completely different viewing – the jewellery and theatre and performance sections.
Entrance is free unless you wish to view some of the special exhibitions, many of which you have to book in advance.
Here is a little snapshot of the history of the V & A courtesy of Wiki.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A), London, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Prince Consort. The V&A is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. The holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings and photographs are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world. The museum owns the world's largest collection of post-classical sculpture, with the holdings of Italian Renaissance items being the largest outside Italy. The departments of Asia include art from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic world. The East Asian collections are among the best in Europe, with particular strengths in ceramics and metalwork, while the Islamic collection is amongst the largest in the Western world.Since 2001, the museum has embarked on a major £150m renovation programme.
The following photos were taken during both visits. Some of the sections do not allow any photography at all eg the jewellery section and some allow photos as long as flashes are not used.
V &A Museum exterior.
These first two photos were taken from the grounds of The Natural History Museum looking towards the V and A, the ugly building on the right is the Ismaili Centre which is a religious, social and cultural meeting place for the Ismaili Muslim community in the United Kingdom. Opened in 1985, the Centre is the first religious and cultural centre to be specially designed and built for the Ismaili community in the West
Moving closer to the entrance
Every time I walk into the V&A I am blown away by Dale Chihuly's chandelier. In case any of you have a similar mind to mine and wonder “how on earth is it cleaned ?” here is the info .. www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/b/behind-the-scenes-chihuly-chandelier/?utm_source=vam.ac.uk&utm_medium=redirect&utm_content=int-chihuly-desktop-wallpaper&utm_campaign=ugc-rev-nov11
www.vam.ac.uk/
This last weekend I was able to visit it twice –double the pleasure. My first visit was on a Friday evening; the V&A building is open until 22.00 hrs but not all the galleries are open. The place takes on a different atmosphere at night with live music and dance and a popular bar.
So a quick two hour visit with my son with the aim wandering through the Medieval / Renaissance section and then anything else that caught our fancy. I revisited again on Sunday during the day with my niece and sister for a completely different viewing – the jewellery and theatre and performance sections.
Entrance is free unless you wish to view some of the special exhibitions, many of which you have to book in advance.
Here is a little snapshot of the history of the V & A courtesy of Wiki.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A), London, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Prince Consort. The V&A is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. The holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings and photographs are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world. The museum owns the world's largest collection of post-classical sculpture, with the holdings of Italian Renaissance items being the largest outside Italy. The departments of Asia include art from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic world. The East Asian collections are among the best in Europe, with particular strengths in ceramics and metalwork, while the Islamic collection is amongst the largest in the Western world.Since 2001, the museum has embarked on a major £150m renovation programme.
The following photos were taken during both visits. Some of the sections do not allow any photography at all eg the jewellery section and some allow photos as long as flashes are not used.
V &A Museum exterior.
These first two photos were taken from the grounds of The Natural History Museum looking towards the V and A, the ugly building on the right is the Ismaili Centre which is a religious, social and cultural meeting place for the Ismaili Muslim community in the United Kingdom. Opened in 1985, the Centre is the first religious and cultural centre to be specially designed and built for the Ismaili community in the West
Moving closer to the entrance
Every time I walk into the V&A I am blown away by Dale Chihuly's chandelier. In case any of you have a similar mind to mine and wonder “how on earth is it cleaned ?” here is the info .. www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/b/behind-the-scenes-chihuly-chandelier/?utm_source=vam.ac.uk&utm_medium=redirect&utm_content=int-chihuly-desktop-wallpaper&utm_campaign=ugc-rev-nov11