Art has an incredible ability to change your mood and, let’s face it, we all want to do that sometimes.
Mindfulness aims to do the same thing. It isn’t just a buzzword, but a real technique that can help you get a handle on your mental health.
Principles of Mindfulness – which you can read more about here – encourage you to be present in the moment and get back in touch with your body and mind, as opposed to rushing through life.
If you want to give it a go, why not combine the two? Stop scrolling through your phone and get present at London’s art galleries, where these paintings make the perfect pitstop for a Mindfulness session.
Bathers at Asnières by Georges Seurat, 1884, National Gallery
There is a real sense of stillness in Georges Seurat’s famous artwork: workers on their lunch break have escaped the busy streets of Paris to stop, look at the Seine, and do little else. It’s also a work to spend some time with. At three metres wide it can envelope you, and the more you look, the more of Seurat’s tiny brushstrokes and patches of colour appear.
Painting by Joan Miró, 1927, Tate Modern
Blue is said to be the most calming colour, and few paintings pack in more blue than this inventively named Painting by Joan Miró. On first appearances, it seems like a pretty simple work, but there’s actually a lot going on in there. As a Surrealist-leaning artist, Miro used “automatic” painting to try and reveal his subconscious – in its essence, Painting is a homage to introspection.
The Hay Wain by John Constable, 1821, National Gallery
If you’re looking for a slower pace of life, you’ll certainly find it in this painting. This Suffolk scene captured by John Constable shows hay makers at work, their cart sat in the waters near the River Stour. This is a painting to be present with: among its superb detail you can see something new in the foliage, the cottage, the sky every time you look at it.
The Madonna of the Pinks (La Madonna dei Garofani) by Raphael, 1506-7, National Gallery
Raphael was a pioneer for taking religious scenes and turning them from cold, wooden pictorials into pieces of human experience. This beautiful work shows the Madonna and Child sat together, engaged in a typical exchange between mother and baby son. The Madonna’s tender gaze captures a precise emotion; she is entirely present in that moment with her child and, for us, it’s a joy to observe.
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent, 1885-6, National Gallery
When it comes to observing the world around us, few have done it better than John Singer Sargent. This stunning work shows two sisters lighting lanterns on summer evening. It is the perfectly pitched light here that transports you wholly into the scene.
Norham Castle, Sunrise by JMW Turner, 1845, Tate Britain
Mornings don’t get much more blissful than this one. The effervescent light that Turner captures here, as the sun rises over Norham Castle and bleeds into the water beyond, is tangible and all-consuming. The glowing blue sky is beautifully layered: you can spend hours with this painting trying to work out how Turner did it, and you’ll enjoy every minute.
The Water-Lily Pond by Claude Monet, 1899, National Gallery
Impressionist master Claude Monet wanted a perfect place to stop, watch the world and paint it – so he built it at his home in Giverny. This garden features a footbridge in a Japanese style, a part of the world where gardens are often designed to necessitate contemplation. Monet so loved this view that he painted it 17 times.
Girl at a Window by Rembrandt, 1645, Dulwich Picture Gallery
In many ways, this simple but pretty perfect painting is an ode to stopping and pausing – you can imagine the world going on around the girl in the painting, but she is firmly in her thoughts. She's so realistic that it was once (dubiously) claimed that Rembrandt put it in the window of his home and fooled passers-by.
Bathers (Les Grandes Baigneuses) by Paul Cézanne, 1894-1905, National Gallery
There’s not much you can do while you’re bathing except bathe – mobile phones and water don’t tend to mix well. While the ladies pictured here by Paul Cézanne are not necessarily alone, there is a definite sense of relaxation, of having removed themselves from the rest of life in order to get in touch with their minds and bodies.
Composition B (No. II) with Red by Piet Mondrian, 1935, Tate Modern
While you’re trying to achieve balance and harmony in your life, Piet Mondrian was also trying to do it in his art. The Dutch artist wanted to find “pure abstraction” in his art, and did so by removing all references to the outside world and focusing purely on the placement of line and colour in his work. If any artist is inspiration for seeking clarity, it’s this guy.
Candlemas Day by Marianne Stokes, 1901, Tate Britain
You don't have to practice prayer yourself to take away some of its benefits. Here this young woman is taking time to sit, to read, to think about things that aren’t the hustle and bustle of daily life.
