Painters' Paintings: From Freud to Van Dyck
23 June - 4 September 2016
Sainsbury Wing
National Gallery
Explore the connections between painters and the paintings they possessed in an exhibition spanning over five hundred years of art history.
Painters' Paintings takes its inspiration from works in the National Gallery Collection once owned by painters, revealing the private acquisitions of Freud, Matisse, Degas, Leighton, Watts, Lawrence, Reynolds, and Van Dyck.
The exhibition investigates why these painters acquired other painters' works – for artistic inspiration, to support fellow artists, as status symbols, as investments, even out of obsession. It also considers the fascinating relations painters had with the paintings they possessed, and what happened when their acquisitions entered public collections.
Painters' Paintings features more than 80 works spanning over five hundred years of art history, from Freud’s 2002 ‘Self Portrait: Reflection’ to Bellini’s Agony in the Garden of about 1465. About half of the works are exceptional loans from public and private collections, including Cézanne’s ‘Three Bathers’ once owned by Matisse, Sisley’s ‘The Flood. Banks of the Seine, Bougival’ once owned by Degas, and Gainsborough’s ‘Girl with Pigs’ once owned by Reynolds. Each painting offers a unique insight into the private worlds of these celebrated masters.
Exhibition generously supported by: The Thompson Family Charitable Trust, The NDL Foundation, Philippe and Stephanie Camu, The Thornton Foundation, and those who wish to remain anonymous.
Image above: Left: Lucian Freud, 'Self Portrait: Reflection' (detail), 2002 Private Collection © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images. Photo courtesy of the owner. Right: Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 'Italian Woman, or Woman with Yellow Sleeve (L'Italienne)' (detail), about 1870  © The National Gallery, London