Yesterday I was in London, having lunch with an old friend, who, it turned out, had not seen the rehung National Gallery (despite living in London – ain't it always the way?). As we were close by, we stepped in, and I had the pleasure of seeing her enjoy the impact of the magnificent rehang for the first time. One of its boldest and most brilliant strokes was to open an uninterrupted vista from one end of the building to the other, so that, as you enter the Sainsbury Wing galleries, you reach a place where you can look to your left and see the great Mond Crucifixion, an early Raphael, painted under the influence of Perugino, and one of his most beautiful works – and, to your right, at the far end of the long, long enfilade of galleries, George Stubbs's masterly, life-sized study of Whistlejacket, surely the greatest and most imposing equestrian painting ever made. To stand between these two masterpieces, looking from left to right, from right to left, is surely the most heart-lifting, aesthetically thrilling experience London has to offer. And of course it is merely a foretaste of the National Gallery's treasures... I'll be back.
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