Bath’s Victoria Art Gallery has been selected to display a major work from The National Gallery’s collection, Nicolas Poussin’s masterpiece The Triumph of Pan, which is touring the UK this year.
Nicolas Poussin – The Triumph of Pan © The National Gallery, London
The piece’s first stop will be the Victoria Art Gallery, where it will be on show from 11th April 2019.
As part of The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2019, the prominent 17th-century painting will be shown alongside works from Bath & North East Somerset Council’s own art collection.
Exploring the timeless relevance of the Classical in art and design, the display will reflect on Bath’s Roman and Georgian heritage and will include works by artists as diverse as Thomas Malton, Jean Claude Nattes and Grayson Perry.
Jon Benington, Victoria Art Gallery Manager, said: “We are delighted to have been selected as the first venue for the 2019 Masterpiece Tour, and look forward to seeing The Triumph of Pan displayed at the Victoria Art Gallery, where local residents and visitors to Bath will be able to see it for free.”
Over a period of one year, the annual National Gallery Masterpiece Tour offers three museums and galleries outside London the opportunity to display a major work from the Gallery’s collection.
After the Victoria Art Gallery, The Triumph of Pan will travel to York Art Gallery and Auckland Castle, County Durham. The Tour is made possible by the generous support of Christie’s.
The Triumph of Pan was painted by Nicolas Poussin in Rome in 1636. Poussin had arrived in Rome from his native France in 1624 and was elected to the Rome Academy in 1632.
This and its companion piece, The Triumph of Bacchus, which is now in Kansas City, were commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu to be displayed in the Cabinet du Roi in his chateau alongside masterpieces from the collection of Isabella D’Este in Mantua.
The painting will be on display from 11th April to 7th July 2019, in the Victoria Art Gallery’s upper gallery, which is free to visit.
