由16世紀威尼斯畫派大師提香根據古典神話創作的這些畫作，自1798年即現身英國，不過「黛安娜和卡利斯托」是由私人收藏。擁有畫作的索塞蘭公爵
（Duke of Sutherland）2008年表示，願將該畫出售給公立畫廊，這使畫廊在政府支持下，展開了籌集經費的行動。
itian's Diana and Callisto will be worth far more than £45million to the country in years to come
The British public will forever have ready access to works that are incomparable works of genius
Saved: The Diana and Callisto by Italian Renaissance master Titian which been saved for the nation in a £45 million deal
PA
The incredible purchase of Titian’s Diana and Callisto completes
gargantuan efforts to keep two of the Renaissance master’s most
celebrated works in Britain.
With the other Diana and Actaeon,
bought for £50million three years ago, it means the British public will
forever have ready access to works that are at once on a par with
Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, but also in their own right
incomparable works of genius.
And while the combined cost of
£95million may seem high, as assets these paintings will be worth far
more to the country in years to come.
Twice Titian: Titian's Diana and Actaeon was bought three years ago
Getty
More importantly they provide a touchstone for members of the
public, school children and young British artists learning their trade
to see firsthand the brilliance of Titian’s work.
Born in 1490
Tiziano Vecelli was an Italian painter from the Venetian school, who
trained under other great masters Giovanni Bellini and Giorgione, but
quickly surpassed them.
Known as Titian he was also referred to poetically by his peers as ‘the Sun amidst small stars’.
The
beauty and skill of his selective use of vibrant colours amidst the
monochromatic backgrounds that were often a feature of Renaissance art
has been a major influence on western art.
And Titian’s realistic
depictions of people and animals, rich and elaborately rendered
clothing, and the broad range of his subject matter, set him apart from
most of his peers.
Painted for Philip II of Spain between 1556 and
1559, Diana and Callisto is one of a series of seven canvases “the
poesies” depicting mythological scenes.
This particular painting
shows the moment in which the goddess Diana discovers her maid Callisto
has been impregnated by Jupiter.
In places the paintwork is very
thin, and you can see beneath the light brush strokes areas that have
been reworked and partially covered over. Bright reds are juxtaposed
against vivid blues and golds. Falling water and drifting clouds exist
together in a perfectly rendered receding landscape.
The very
real, very familiar looking dogs in the foreground, seem to blend in
with the action, and yet singled out are complete entities in
themselves.
As a composition it is a complex proposition even for a
talented artist and yet it feels utterly believable and real, despite
the subject matter and the space being crammed with no less than 11
figures, a couple of dogs and some statuary.
The painting, which
came to Britain in 1793 and was acquired by the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater,
is a complicated canvas full of overlapping nudes, brocaded drapery,
trees, clouds and animals.
The Duke of Sutherland, who owns the
painting, offered in 2008 to sell the work to public galleries, sparking
a government-backed fundraising campaign.
Titian was one of the
the late great British artist Lucian Freud’s favourite painters, and he
once wrote of how Rembrandt’s paintings seemed “dim” by comparison.
On
Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto he added: “These Titians are
so full of light and air.. (they) are intimate yet also grand.
"Why are they so much greater than almost everybody else? Because you believe in them more.
“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.”
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