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Cumberland Art Gallery highlights

Duccio di Buoninsegna

Triptych: Crucifixion and other Scenes, c1302-8

Christ is at the centre, but this work is about his mother, the Virgin Mary, who appears four times. Duccio skilfully painted her emotions so that the viewer could identify with her sorrows, acceptance and trusting faith. This altarpiece was for private use. Its hinged sides originally closed like doors to protect and conceal the painting. When opened for prayer by candlelight, the gold leaf glowed and shimmered, evoking the riches of heaven.

Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

Sir Anthony van Dyck

Portrait of Mary, Princess Royal and later Princess of Orange, c1637

Court artists worked directly for the royal family. Van Dyck’s portrait of the 6-year-old daughter of Charles I is a statement of dynastic wealth – the expensive lace, pearls and gold damask curtain – but also a delightful image of a little girl with her hands clasped uncertainly in front of her silver apron, attempting a mature pose beyond her years.

Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to Historic Royal Palaces, 2008.

Rembrandt van Rijn

An Old Woman, called ‘The Artist’s Mother’, c1627-9

Rembrandt’s painting is a timeless and moving record of old age. The hooded eyes, thinning lips and the loose and creased folds of skin are all exaggerated and highlighted, designed to evoke our pity and perhaps a sense of our own mortality. Such paintings, virtuoso exercises of imagination, also brilliantly displayed Rembrandt’s talent, and helped establish his reputation.

Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018

Rembrandt van Rijn: An old Woman called 'The Artist's Mother' c. 1627-9 Oil on panel Royal Collection

Artemisia Gentileschi

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of ‘Painting’, c1638-9

This is one of the most revealing portraits of a 17th-century woman. Artemisia has depicted herself as a working artist and as ‘La Pittura’, the idea of painting as illustrated in emblematic handbooks. Artemisia used these descriptions to create her self-portrait: the artist is lost in the moment, her hair tied back but dishevelled, her body contorted as she concentrates on the canvas.

Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018.

Artemisia Gentileschi: Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (La Pittura), c. 1638-9 Oil on canvas Royal Collection RCIN405551
Frank Holl: No Tidings From the Sea, 1870 Oil on canvas Royal Collection RCIN405161

Frank Holl

No Tidings from the Sea, 1870

Victorian artists drew on a long legacy of narrative art. This painfully emotional scene captures a family’s desolation after the death of a fisherman. Holl’s muted colours and the quiet grief of each of the figures is relieved only by the mystical light around the bright white shirt of the young girl, a sign of hope and an echo of the religious symbolism of earlier artworks.

Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018.

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Young boy looking towards the imperial state crown in the Crown Jewels exhibition
Highlights Things to see

See the Crown Jewels

Prepare to be dazzled by this breathtaking, world famous collection of 23,578 gemstones at the Tower of London.

Open daily

Tower of London

Allow one hour

Included in palace admission (members go free)

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Member-Only White Tower Tour

See the Line of Kings and the Chapel of St John the Evangelist after hours with a White Tower guide, at the Tower of London.

16 December 2019 and 17 February 2020

Tower of London

18.30

Separate ticket (advance booking required)

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Young boy looking towards the imperial state crown in the Crown Jewels exhibition
Events Member only

Exclusive members' viewing of the Crown Jewels

Experience a members-only viewing of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.

2 December 2019 and 27 January 2020

Tower of London

19:00

Separate ticket (advance booking required)

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Browse more history and stories

The execution of Charles I

Tried and sentenced to death for high treason

The story of Hampton Court Palace

Home of Henry VIII and the Tudor dynasty

The story of Banqueting House

Four hundred years of history and the site of a royal execution

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Henry VIII gauntlet armour oven glove made from Cotton twill with polyester thermal

Henry VIII gauntlet armour oven glove

This fun oven glove has been inspired by a suit of armour made for Henry VIII in 1540, which is on display at the Tower of London.

12.99