Renaissance masterpiece Diana and Actaeon returns to National Gallery after six years
The painting will be displayed in Edinburgh for the next four and half years before returning to London.
Titian’s Diana and Actaeon, one of the most celebrated paintings of the Renaissance period, is back on the walls of the National Gallery of Scotland after six years.
Titian is widely regarded as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice and created the work at the height of his career.
The painting depicts the moment that Actaeon, while out hunting, accidentally discovered the secret bathing place of Diana, goddess of the moon and hunt.
The picture is one of a series of famous mythological paintings Titian called 'poesie', made for King Phillip II of Spain.
The subjects were based on the ancient Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses. Titian planned the canvases as pairs, and made Diana and Callisto - which is also displayed at the National - the partner to this work.
The painting was jointly acquired by the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London in 2009, and alternates between the galleries in Edinburgh and London every five years.
The spectacular work will be displayed in the Edinburgh museum, on The Mound, for the next four and a half years.
The companion paintings have captivated artists for generations, including Lucian Freud, who described them as “the most beautiful paintings in the world”.
He said: “When I was staying in the Scottish Borders, I used to drive into Edinburgh almost every day to look at Titian’s two paintings. Since then they’ve been among my absolute favourites.
“The degree of conviction is so absolute. That’s one of the things that very great paintings have in common.
“How is it that these paintings, which are as effortless as a Matisse, affect you more than any tragedy? Everything they contain is there for the viewer’s pleasure.
“To me, these are simply the most beautiful pictures in the world. Once you’ve seen them, you want to see them again and again.”
The painting is displayed in Room 15 in the National gallery. Its return to Scotland has been marked by with a new hand-carved frame, inspired by historic Venetian designs and created especially for the painting.