Read and watch stories inspired by our paintings

From cupid's bow to Odysseus's epic archery skills, discover the meaning of arrows in art with Carlo Corsato

February 2020: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 'The Supper at Emmaus', after 1601

January 2020: Piero della Francesca, 'The Baptism of Christ', after 1437

What you need to know about Leonardo and The Virgin of the Rocks, in 30 seconds

How would Leonardo’s Virgin of the Rocks have looked in its original setting?

15 years after discovering a hidden drawing beneath Leonardo’s Virgin of the Rocks, we uncover more of the mystery

What you need to know about one of Leonardo’s most famous paintings

Cleavers, poison and snakes, oh my! But what do they have to do with saints? Edward Dickenson explains all

Six events in Gauguin’s life that influenced both the way he thought and the way he painted

We answer some questions about Gauguin's portraits and self portraits

Elizabeth C. Childs explores Gauguin's time in the South Seas and the impact the region had on his portraits

How can dance interpret and respond to our paintings and architecture?

From starring roles to cameo performances, meet some of the cats who've sneaked into our paintings

From putting up our 16ft Leonardo-inspired Christmas trees to celebrating the winter highlights in our collection, see how we're getting ready for Christmas

You've sung the carols, you've sent the cards, but how well do you actually know the Nativity? Here's the original Christmas story, as told by our paintings

December 2019: Geertgen tot Sint Jans, The Nativity at Night, possibly about 1490

What have birds got to do with death? Edward Dickenson reveals some of the hidden meanings in our paintings

November 2019: Orazio Gentileschi, The Finding of Moses, early 1630s

Journey through a spectrum of colours with our Scientific Department as we explore some of the different pigments used in our paintings

Walk through 100 years of photography, looking at some of the Photographic team’s favourite images from the archive

In the first part of our centenary celebrations, we look at how the team has evolved over the last 100 years

October 2019: Titian, 'Noli me Tangere', about 1514

September 2019: The Healing of the Man born Blind

What did the Victorian era’s leading art critic have to say about our paintings?

August 2019: Joseph Wright 'of Derby', An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, 1768

July 2019: Alexandre Calame, At Handeck, about 1860

Discover the detail in this extraordinary painting by Bartolomé Bermejo

Read how the rare loan of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci’s favourite pupil, Francesco Melzi, was the centrepiece of a special display

He’s one of Spain’s most celebrated artists, but is less well known outside of his home country. Here’s what you need to know about the artist dubbed Spain's Impressionist

Gain an insight into the first major exhibition of Sorolla’s paintings in the UK since 1908

Famous for his technical virtuosity; his skill at painting the fleeting effects of light, we take a look at the main aspects of Sorolla's technique

June 2019: The Story of Griselda, Part I: Marriage

May 2019: Thomas Jones, 'A Wall in Naples', about 1782

April 2019: Vincent van Gogh, 'Van Gogh's Chair', 1888

March 2019: Frans van Mieris the Elder, 'Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Cunera van der Cock', about 1657–8

Discover some of the women artists in our collection

Discover our newly restored and recently acquired painting by the most celebrated female artist of the Italian Baroque

Michael Palin discusses his favourite National Gallery paintings, in conversation with Caroline Campbell.

Find out how a radical breakaway movement became one of the most popular styles in modern art.

Watch our Director, Gabriele Finaldi, explore the life and work of Bernardo Bellotto and the recently acquired painting, The Fortress of Königstein from the North.

Discover how four of Australia's most significant artists engaged with and contributed to the broader, international movement that was Impressionism.

Read about Turner's celebrated painting of the last voyage of an old war hero – The Fighting Temeraire.

She was the most powerful courtesan of her day, but who was the real Madame de Pompadour?

Learn how The Madonna of the Pinks was identified as a work by Raphael.

Learn more about Botticelli's intriguing mythological scene depicting the goddess of love, and the god of war

Learn how the National Gallery survived during the Second World War.