Dulwich Picture Gallery


The world’s first purpose-built public art gallery, the small Dulwich Picture Gallery was designed by architect Sir John Soane and opened in 1817 to house nearby Dulwich College’s collection of paintings by the Old Masters, including work by Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough, Poussin and Canaletto. Unusually, the gallery also includes a mausoleum for its founders, lit by a moody lumière mystérieuse (mysterious light) created with tinted glass placed among the pictures. An audio guide is included in the ticket price.


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