What to see this week: National Gallery of Ireland

After six years of partial closure, the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin has finally reopened (00 353 1661 5133; www.nationalgallery.ie). Shown here is the restored Grand Gallery, with its 18th-century hang. Work, undertaken according to an ongoing masterplan by Heneghan Peng Architects, has focused on the infrastructure of the building. The particular intention has been to improve atmospheric controls as well as circulation within the building’s complex and rambling plan. The collection as a whole has been rehung.

The opening of the gallery coincides with a major new exhibition, organised in partnership with the Louvre: ‘Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry’ (until September 17). It includes 10 paintings by Vermeer, an unprecedented collection of his work in one place.

Beside this blockbuster is another notable free exhibition ‘The Art of Margaret Clarke’, a leading figure in the Irish art world of the early 20th century and the wife of the celebrated stained-glass artist Harry Clarke (closing August 20).