Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ (1602), Reynolds's First Earl of Bellamont (1773), Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid (circa 1670)…you get the picture. The National Gallery of Ireland -- the first in a series of major civic buildings on the west side of Merrion Square -- is one of Europe's finest smaller art museums -- with "smaller" being a relative term: the collection holds more than 2,500 paintings and some 10,000 other works. But unlike Europe's largest art museums, the National Gallery can be thoroughly covered in a morning or afternoon without inducing exhaustion. An 1854 Act of Parliament provided for the establishment of the museum, which was helped along by William Dargan (1799-1867), who was responsible for building much of Ireland's rail network (he is honored by a statue on the front lawn). The 1864 building was designed by Francis Fowke, who was also responsible for London's Victoria & Albert Museum.

A highlight of the museum is the major collection of paintings by Irish artists from the 17th through 20th centuries, including works by Roderic O'Conor (1860-1940), Sir William Orpen (1878-1931), and William Leech (1881-1968). The Yeats Museum section contains works by members of the Yeats family. Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957), the brother of writer W. B. Yeats, is by far the best-known Irish painter of the 20th century. Yeats painted portraits and landscapes in an abstract expressionist style not unlike that of the Bay Area Figurative painters of the 1950s and '60s. His The Liffey Swim (1923) is particularly worth seeing for its Dublin subject matter (the annual swim is still held, usually on the first weekend in September).

The collection also claims exceptional paintings from the 17th-century French, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish schools. Among the highlights are those mentioned above and Rembrandt's Rest on the Flight into Egypt (1647), Poussin's The Holy Family (1649), and Lamentation over the Dead Christ (circa 1655-60), and Goya's Portrait of Doña Antonia Zárate (circa 1810). Don't miss the portrait of the First Earl of Bellamont (1773) by Reynolds; the earl was among the first to introduce the Georgian fashion to Ireland, and this portrait flaunts the extraordinary style of the man himself. The French Impressionists are represented with paintings by Monet, Sisley, and Pissarro. The British collection and the Irish National Portrait collection are displayed in the north wing of the gallery, while the Millennium Wing, a standout of postmodern architecture in Dublin, houses part of the permanent collection and also stages major international traveling exhibits. The amply stocked gift shop is a good place to pick up books on Irish artists. Free guided tours are available on Saturday at 3 and on Sunday at 2, 3, and 4.