It was the floor mosaics that stole the show

It was the floor mosaics that stole the show - Mosaic floor @ National Gallery - Garden Room Style

I came for the art (on the walls), that is after all what the National Gallery in London is all about. But for me it was the floor mosaics that stole the show. I’ve highlighted before the benefits of looking down, here you can simply not look elsewhere, the floor mosaics are huge and jumps right at you. So many details to take in, you’re not sure where to start.

It was the floor mosaics that stole the show  - The Awakening of the Muses' - mosaic flooring - National Gallery - Garden Room Style

‘The Awakening of the Muses’.

The National Gallery commissioned Russian-born artist Boris Anrep to create these mosaics between 1928-1933. In the Gallery’s Portico entrance you’ll find the ‘The Awakening of the Muses’, a marble mosaic laid in 1933.

It was the floor mosaics that stole the show - The Pleasures of Life mosaic - National Gallery - Garden Room Style

The Pleasures of Life floor mosaic by Boris Anrep

Additionally, there are two mosaic pavements in the vestibule of the Main Hall illustrating ‘The Labours of Life’ (illustrates Man’s constructive and creative nature) and ‘The Pleasures of Life’ (shows Man’s recreations).

It was the floor mosaics that stole the show - The Awakening of the Muses' - mosaic flooring - National Gallery - Garden Room Style

‘The Modern Virtues’ – floor mosaic by Boris Anrep.

In 1952, Anrep laid a third pavement, ‘The Modern Virtues’. Anrep intended this as a record of intellectual life in the 1930s and 1940s. Together the mosaics combine to celebrate everyday life. Boris may have started life in Russia with an initial ambition to study law. In the early 1900s, however, he abandoned that life to dedicate his time to art instead. He became became acquainted with hip arty people in Paris and after WWI in London. Several of his friends feature in the aforementioned mosaics.