London: The Wallace Collection- amazing museum which dissapeared from the guides

 

`The swing`` is most famous rococo painting and symbol of age and fall of french dynasty. The seemingly innocent picture shows a woman on a swing. However, when someone learns the story of three people, things are different. Everybody is happy. The lover who is in fact bishop  pushes women towards the hidden in the bushes husband,  who doesn`t see nothing bad in that, but really looks with pleasure on pair, all for profit. 

The Wallace Collection is one of my favorite museums in London. In the past, it was a must-see during the Grand Tour, and the place was visited by crown heads and princes. Franz Ferdinand was here shortly before he died. This museum has some of the most famous works of art in its collection, including the legendary ''The Swing'', a symbol of Rococo and the fall of the French monarchy. This place is a temple for those who are interested in the time of Louis XV, because it is here that we can find the most mementos of the king and Madame de Pompadour. The museum building was commissioned by the 2nd Marquess of Hertford. In 1870, the property was taken over by Richard Wallace, the illegitimate son of Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, and Agnes Jackson. He was never officially recognized by his father, but that did not prevent him from inheriting his art collection in 1871. The object got its name from him; he bought the Herftod residence from his cousin, who became the 5th Marquis. Richard Wallace grew up mainly in Paris and died there too. He used to bring masterpieces of French art to his residence with passion.  

   During the siege of Paris by the Prussian army and the actions of the Paris Commune, Wallace organized help for the victims of the fighting. Thanks to these activities, he obtained nobility and the title of baronet in 1871. Not long before that, he married his longtime lover, Julia Castlenau (1819-1897) with whom he already had a 30-year-old illegitimate son, Edmond Richard. In 1872, Sir Richard moved to London. He brought with him part of his collection, which, on display at the Bethnal, Green Museum, aroused considerable interest. He also collected many works of art, mainly miniatures and gold ornaments, as well as a collection of European weapons and Renaissance copies of decorative art. Unlike my father, who loved 18th-century French painting, After the death of his son in 1887, Sir Richard returned to Paris, where he died three years later. He was buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. He handed over the property to his wife. After her death in 1897, Lady Wallace's secretary, Sir John Murray Scott, placed the collection at Hertford House, thus creating the famous Wallace Collection.  Between 1897 and 1900, the former private residence was converted into a public museum.  On the 1st floor, galleries replaced the stabling, coachhouses, smoking room, and some private rooms. Interior changed. We find here the masterpieces of art by Gainsborough, Canaletto, Reynolds, Oudry, Rembrandt, Velazquez, and the first behaviorist and animal painter, Landseer, known from all books on art. A huge collection of porcelain and one of the largest collections of weapons in Europe, including those from India and the Golden Porta.

 

Is it here that the furniture belonging to ''Roi du Soleil'' , Louis XV, and Madamme de Pompadour survived, which would have been lost during the French Revolution and the Spring of Nations. The paintings The Laughing Cavalier and Francesca da Rimini, more famous in the world than the authors Perseus and Andromeda (Titian), are kept here. The mistress of Cesare Borgia and the mother of his beloved son, Girolamo Fiametta, appear in the paintings, most likely posing again. There is  very good restaurant in the bulding.          

International site about the place: https://www.wallacecollection.org/