Cultural democracy

Popped into the National Gallery today for half an hour. Had to make a quick choice - Old Masters vs Impressionists. No way I can do both. Went for the latter. Only three rooms. Degas, Cezanne, van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Gauguin. Even a Klimt. Saw them all a million times. Surprisingly, the one that caught my eye was Earthenware Pot by Vuillard. An unusual still life. Most still lifes have a bowl of fruit or flowers standing in glorious isolation in the middle of the frame. Vuillard put the pot of flowers on the left of a table to which a family is sat chatting. And still, despite the people, the odd composition, the beautiful flowers and the very heavy frame, it is the earthenware pot that stands out from the picture. It was wonderful.

One reason the pot may have caught my eye was that it was one of the few paintings which did not have hoards of people in front of it. You see, the gallery was packed. Didn't use to be like that. One of the first things that the previous government did when it came to power in 1997 is to alleviate the entrance fees to national museums. Let the nation see its national treasures sort of thing. For those of you more into numbers than art, in the three rooms I saw alone there were easily £1,000,000,000 of paintings. So the gallery was packed with families enjoying the bank holiday. Enjoying the fact that one of the best ways to spend a few hours in London is free. True cultural democracy. Just hope the new government will stick with it.

PS 465km down. 535km to go.