Insight! Sensitivity! Genius! Our critic picks the top five masterpieces in the National Gallery

It started from scratch – and became one of the world’s greatest collections. As the National Gallery celebrates its 200th birthday, we pick five sublime works – from a serene statesman to Van Gogh’s blazing blooms

The National Gallery in London is 200 years old on Friday, but what makes it so special? Founded in 1824 when public museums of fine art were in their infancy, it was different from rivals such as the Louvre (founded 1793) and the Prado (1819) because they inherited royal collections. By contrast, the National started from scratch and has intentionally built up the world’s most systematic corpus of European paintings. In that same thoughtful spirit, the gallery and the Guardian have charted a timeline of 20 of its masterpieces. Here are five of those to take you on a trip through 600 years of insight, sensitivity and genius.