Van Gogh, Monet in best of best display at HKPM

More than 50 "best of the best" masterpieces by famed painters, including Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet, from London's National Gallery will be displayed at Hong Kong Palace Museum starting today.

The 52 paintings by 50 artists span more than 400 years of Western art history and will be the third stop of an Asian tour.

They will be displayed in six sections featuring sacred images, mythology, daily life portraiture, landscapes and modern life.

London National Gallery director Gabriele Finaldi said yesterday he is "especially keen to see the response from the Hong Kong audience" after the exhibition successfully ran at the Shanghai Museum and National Museum of Korea in Seoul earlier this year.

"This presentation not only tells a story about the National Gallery's collection but also a story about European painting tradition," Finaldi said, expecting a large number of visitors in Hong Kong.

Palace Museum director Louis Ng Chi-wa said the exhibition is estimated to attract 300,000 additional visits, helping to further fulfill its ambition to bridge East-West communication.

"The opening of the exhibition underscores the core mission of HKPM, which is to not only showcase the wonders of traditional Chinese culture but also to bridge the world's civilizations," he said.

This is the fourth time that HKPM has launched an exhibition collaboration with overseas institutions since it opened last year.

Deputy director Wang Yiyou said the exhibits are "the best of the best."

She added: "National Gallery has a total of 2,500 collections and it chose the best 52 of them to be displayed outside the UK. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most people to enjoy world-renowned paintings in Hong Kong."

In anticipation of families visiting the exhibition, HKPM has prepared games to guide children in observing the paintings. Riddles and scavenger hunts have been put up throughout the exhibition to encourage children to find tiny creatures in paintings or talk with their parents about their feelings toward the artwork.

A special presentation "Discover the Secrets of Paintings" will show a technical analysis of selected paintings on their colors and painting process. Visitors can learn how London's National Gallery discovers original sketches and pigment compositions through technical analysis such as X-rays.

The exhibition will remain open until mid-April next year with an admission ticket costing HK$150 for adults or HK$75 for children aged seven to 10, full-time students, elderly aged 60 or above and disabled persons.

The museum will also feature six documentaries about six artists from January to April next year alongside the exhibition. Tickets will be available on HKPM's website on December 8.

ayra.wang@singtaonewscorp.com