The director of the famous London museum talks about the gallery and himself in an interview with Fq Magazine
In the beating heart of London National Galleryamong the most famous museums in the world, celebrates 200 years of history. Gabriele Finaldi (whose surname reveals his local origins) has directed the iconic British gallery since 2015 and together with restorersscientists, custodians and Italian visitors – not to mention our precious works of art across the Channel – represents a piece of Italy in the history, present and future of the prestigious British gallery.
Director Finaldi, how do you feel about having reached a very important anniversary, and how will you celebrate it?
We feel very honored to be the generation that will make this transition from 199 to 200 years old. The National Gallery was founded with the aim of bringing works of art of great significance before the eyes of the public and also of artists, this was the specific element in the beginning and this is what we continue to do today. We enter the bicentenary year with theLast Caravaggio which has become a public phenomenon and then 12 masterpieces of the museum will go on display in 12 cities of the Great Britain so that the whole nation participates in the celebrations. We are working to create new spaces inside the gallery to give an appropriate welcome to the public in this museum which before the pandemic received 6 million spectators a year. And then the great exhibitions this year starting from Van Gogh in the autumn which will celebrate a century of presence in our collection, in fact in 1924 we purchased it Sunflowers and we organized our first exhibition on this artist. At the beginning of 2025, before reopening the museum once the works are completed, we will have an exhibition on Siena of the 1300 Of Duccioof the brothers LorenzettiOf Simone Martini with a very important presence of Italian loans.
In 1824 the National Gallery opened with 38 paintings, in 2024 there are 2400, and in between there are 200 years of history. What were the most significant moments?
Our collection is not large, they are 2400 worksnot many but there are some masterpieces of the history of European art let’s think about Virgin of the Rocks Of Leonardo for example. NG was born as small reality in a private house, only 20 years later it is created the Trafalgar Square museum in the heart of London, exciting moments in our history when the director Charles Eastlake begins to purchase works of great importance, some directly from Italy, and then the years of the Second World War when the NG is empty of works of art but remains an important cultural presence in the city especially through the music and direction of the great historian of ‘art Kenneth Clarke. Lately with the creation of Sainsbury Wing we have a new way of presenting medieval and Renaissance collections and every day we emphasize the activity of contemporary artists with the presence of artists who come to work and live here with us and are inspired by our collections. Of course then there is the digital world which is an important presence here in the gallery.
What are you most proud of as a director?
All the directors want to impact the history of the institution, I am proud of the purchase of the large painting The discovery of Moses Of Horace Kindmade here at London for the king of Englandand shortly after that of the first first work of Artemisia Kindhis self-portrait in the guise of Saint Catherine of Alexandria which was a sensational phenomenon because we had the rather original idea of presenting the work in small places outside London where you would never expect to see classical art, like a women’s prison in the south of England or in a school for girls in the north of the country. So there were moments where we brought works of art to a new and fresh audience in a slightly surprising way and I really liked that. We recently made a somewhat unusual purchase, we bought a work by a German expressionist at an auction. These are some of the things that make me very happy.
And what is it most connected to from a personal point of view?
I made my first visit to the gallery when I was 7 years old together with my mother who was doing research on Charles de Foucauldand brought me here to show me the famous portrait of his aunt, Madame Moitessier, a wonderful lady dressed in great luxury and of great wealth. My mother explained to me that this lady’s nephew dedicated his life to her instead take care of the poor therefore an absolute contrast with the origin of the family. It was the beginning of a succession of visits to the gallery which then became an integral part of my life. Every day I come to work I feel enormously privileged.
Accessibility and free entry are two important elements for the constant flow of visitors to the NG, but what do you think is the secret of its success?
The gallery was founded for the public is not one princely collection which becomes part of the state. Here we create and we want a museum for the public, for the people, for the citizens, a gallery where all social classes can peacefully gather and be exposed to the presence of great beauty, and where artists can aspire to paint like the great masters. So there is an educational intention in the creation of the NG, and there is also the sense that it is a pleasant place to visit: a combination of entertainment and teaching. In 1824 on the door of the National Gallery it was written: a collection of paintings for public use, so here in Great Britain we have the feeling that the works somehow belong to us, we treat the gallery a bit as if it were ours, as if we were the owners as citizens, and free entry is a fundamental part of this. As a boy I was able to visit this museum frequently because it was free so there is no fundamental barrier here. The museum exists because the paintings are for us.
A piece of this iconic British institution is in fact ours, Italy’s. Can you give us the dimension of how the National Gallery is represented by our country?
L’Italy it is very present. There representativeness of collections for the history of Italian culture it is excellent and complete. Let’s start with Cimabue, Giotto and the painters of the 14th century and we arrive at Canaletto with a strong presence of the great masters, of the movements. Titian is one of the pillars on which the NG is built but also Botticelli, two of the three works on panel by Michelangelo I’m here, together with Raffaello And Leonardo, they are fundamental figures in our collection. Italian works are about a third of our collection and we have always lent to large Italian projects. There is a constant flow of works fromItaly towards us and vice versa and in the future I would like to find the opportunity to hold exhibitions together with Italian institutions. There is a strong presence of Italians in our staff, scientists, restorers, room custodians, they are people who love the artistic environment and want to convey their enthusiasm, this is certainly my case. After the English and together with the French and Germans, they are the Italians more visitors of the NG, tens of thousands of people who I hope feel at home.
Your balance sheet is solid. What makes your business model successful?
Fundamental for us is that we are a national gallery, we depend on the Ministry of Culture, and the state contribution of £24 million it is important for running our business and looking after the building. But we have to find another 20/25 million to make the gallery work and we do it through commercial activity, the philanthropythe sponsorships hey relationships with companies and foundations. We are lucky because we are in the center of London, we are a prestigious institution with many visitors (over 4 million visits to the Trafalgar Square gallery in 2023, up 14% compared to 2022 and 60 million views online and on social media) and therefore it is not that difficult for us to attract the necessary support to carry forward this great project.
What lesson can you be for Italy?
We admire the institutions and great Italian museums and the intimate relationship they have with their territory. The latest Italian reforms they gave greater autonomy to museums, making them a little more similar to ours, I believe they have given a boost of energy and the opportunity to make necessary innovations in the way of displaying the collections, and in this sense I believe that our model has been useful to Italian museums. But we greatly admire the energy and the great work also from the point of view of the restoration carried out in Italy. One of my ambitions is to be able to do an exhibition together to a great Italian museumI would really like this.
How do you paint your future?
We have big plans to develop the spaces of the collection, there is a very interesting prospect of work: we will create the new study center of the National Gallery. We have invested heavily in digital, we produce content to seek new ways of bringing art to an online audience and now, on the occasion of the bicentenary, we have launched 200 creators: we have asked for the collaboration of 200 artists and online influencers who have put their content into relationship with NG on their sites, for their followers, and all of a sudden we reach new audiences. It’s up to us to always find new ways to make art attractive and effective, fresh, new, exciting and innovative.
